New Delhi, Aug 1 Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani on Thursday said the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Amendment Bill passed by Parliament may not be aimed at 'vote bank politics' as the children do not votes but the new legislation will lead India march forward towards progress and prosperity.
"Bachhey vote nahi dete ....(Children do not vote)," she said in her spirited reply to the debate in the Lok Sabha.
The House of the People passed the Bill by voice vote. The Bill was approved by Rajya Sabha also in near consensus spirit on July 24.
She said most members during the debate rose above party affiliations and participated in the debate.
The new law is expected to discourage the trend of child sexual abuse by acting as a deterrent due to the strong penal provisions and it also seeks to protect the interests of vulnerable children in times of distress.
The new law entails death penalty for brutal sexual assault on children and stringent punishment including life imprisonment for using children for pornographic purposes.Union Minister Ms Irani also clarified that if the perpetrators are children, the capital punishment clause would not apply to them.
"Hence no body should presume if the perpetrator is below the age of 16 years will be hanged till death," she said.Sources said, there has been a rise in crimes against children in the country in recent years. It is estimated that 1.6 lakh cases of child abuse are pending in 31 states and union territories (UTs).
As per official data, about 12,609 rape cases were registered under the POCSO this year.
During the debate, Speaker Om Birla also sought to compliment the Minister for piloting the draft law - which was appreciated by several opposition lawmakers.
"Sara sadan apke sath hae (Entire House is with you)," Mr Birla remarked.
Among others BSP member Kunwar Danish Ali and NCP MP Supriya Sule also backed the Bill.
So did Trinamool Congress member Shatabdi Roy and JD(U) member Rajiv Ranjan Singh.
JD(U) member from Munger said, quoting a study, that while 18,960 cases were reported formally in 2006 on sexual harassment on children, by 2016 the number shot up to over 1,06,000 with one child subjected to the trauma every 15 minutes.
"Apparently nobody is safe. Not even at home, the child faces these problems at school and market place too," Mr Singh said.
However, there was clash in the House after Congress member from Alathur in Kerala, Ramya Haridas made reference to the Unnao rape case.
Kirron Kher of BJP also took exception to her remarks.
In her response to the debate, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani made it clear that the law on rape and sexual assault makes no exception for state legislators and elected Members of Parliament also.
"...kahin yeh nahi bola, MP aur MLA achhuta rahega (...Nowhere it is said elected state legislators and MPs are exempted from the law of the land)," Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said.
BJP lawmaker Nishikant Dubey slammed the ivory tower NGO activists and other self-styled social workers who over the years took to streets with candle lit processions but did little in terms of concrete actions against the offenders of sexual child abuse.
Participating in the debate on Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, the vocal lawmaker from Godda constituency in Jharkhand said - time has come for action against such defaulters and it goes to the credit of the Modi government that an effective Bill has been brought in.
"Tum chhor do rasm mom battiyon jalane ki, ab baari hae darinde ko jalane ki (Time to give up the ceremony of lighting candles, it is time to take actions against the offenders)," Mr Dubey said.
Parl passes bill providing death penalty for aggravated sexual attack on children
New Delhi, Aug 1 In a landmark legislative measure, Parliament on Thursday gave nod to The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Amendment Bill that entails death penalty for brutal sexual assault on children and stringent punishment including life imprisonment for using children for pornographic purposes.
The Bill piloted by the Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani got immense support in the Lok Sabha with members cutting across party lines backing the government to impose death penalty for brutal sexual assault on children and take other aggressive measures to bring down the trend of child sexual abuse.
The House of the People passed the Bill by voice vote. The Bill was approved by Rajya Sabha also in near consensus spirit on July 24.Supporting the draft law among others, NCP member Supriya Sule said while the Minister needs to be complimented for taking initiatives in bringing the new Bill, the central government should also take measures to curb eve teasing.Another opposition member Kunwar Danish Ali (BSP) - also supported the Bill - saying: "As an issue, I am against capital punishment, but if the norm of death penalty remains, the issue of sexual abuse on children is one area, I will support".NDA ally JD(U) also backed the Bill. There has been an alarming 500 per cent increase in the episodes of sexual harassment of children in India between 2006 and 2016, Rajiv Ranjan Singh of JD(U) said.
JD(U) member from Munger said, quoting a study, that while 18,960 cases were reported formally in 2006 on sexual harassment on children, by 2016 the number shot up to over 1,06,000 with one child subjected to the trauma every 15 minutes."Apparently nobody is safe. Not even at home, the child faces these problems at school and market place too," Mr Singh said.
However, there was clash in the House after Congress member from Alathur in Kerala, Ramya Haridas made reference to the Unnao rape case.Kirron Kher of BJP also took exception to her remarks.
In her response to the debate, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani made it clear that the law on rape and sexual assault makes no exception for state legislators and elected Members of Parliament also.
"...kahin yeh nahi bola, MP aur MLA achhuta rahega (...Nowhere it is said elected state legislators and MPs are exempted from the law of the land)," Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said.
The new law is expected to discourage the trend of child sexual abuse by acting as a deterrent due to the strong penal provisions and it also seeks to protect the interests of vulnerable children in times of distress.
Sources said, there has been a rise in crimes against children in the country in recent years. It is estimated that 1.6 lakh cases of child abuse are pending in 31 states and union territories (UTs).
Five-fold spike in 2006-2016 in cases of sexual harassment of children: JD(U)
New Delhi, Aug 1 There has been an alarming 500 per cent increase in the episodes of sexual harassment of children in India between 2006 and 2016, Janata Dal (United)' s Rajiv Ranjan Singh said in Lok Sabha on Thursday.Participating in the debate on Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, JD(U) member the Munger MP said, quoting a study, that while 18,960 cases were reported formally in 2006 on sexual harassment on children, by 2016 the number shot up to over 1,06,000 with one child subjected to the trauma every 15 minutes.
"Apparently nobody is safe. Not even at home, the child faces these problems at school and market place too," Mr Singh said. The JD (U), he added, would back the new draft law brought by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
Shiv Sena's Vinayak Raut expressed concern on the rise in number of child pornography and maintained it is a matter of concern that there has been a spike in such cases in the Capital.In this context, the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg representative praised the measures taken by the Maharashtra government to check child pornography.Kotha Prabhakar Reddy of Telangana Rashtra Samiti also spoke.
BJP MP Dubey slams 'candle lighting' activists vis-a-vis child abuse
New Delhi, Aug 1 BJP lawmaker Nishikant Dubey on Thursday slammed the ivory tower NGO activists and other self styled social workers who over the years took to streets with candle lit processions but did little in terms of concrete actions against the offenders of sexual child abuse.
Participating in the debate on Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, the vocal lawmaker from Godda constituency in Jharkhand said - time has come for action against such defaulters and it goes to the credit of the Modi government that an effective Bill has been brought in.
"Tum chhor do rasm mom battiyon jalane ki, ab baari hae darinde ko jalane ki (Time to give up the ceremony of lighting candles, it is time to take actions against the offenders)," Mr Dubey said.
In this context, he said the illustrious Nelson Mandela used to say that the soul of any society or country lives in its children and thus it is imperative that adequate steps ought to be taken to safe guard children from such abuses.
While he said he is against the idea of comparing India with any western country, at the same time it ought to be mentioned that in the US there are very strict laws for protecting child rights. "Even parents can be booked merely for scolding or slapping a child ....," he said.
"Our society is different...," he remarked but maintained that at the same time "we ought to note that even in India we have been facing these instances of child abuse sexually for long time".
He said the Modi government and the Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani thus ought to be complimented for bringing the clause of death penalty. "The government has shown the political will," he said.
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