Spl Parliament session: BJP to raise issue with Prez

The BJP has sought President Pranab Mukherjee’s intervention in persuading the UPA government to hold a special session of Parliament to “discuss and also pass suitable legislative measures to address the concern of the country for the larger cause of security and safety for women”. A decision to petition the President over the issue was made by the BJP’s Core Group which met for the first time after outraged young students and other concerned citizens led spontaneous protests in the national capital and elsewhere to protest the brutal assault and rape of a 23-year-old paramedical student. [caption id=“attachment_568115” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Pranab Mukherjee.[/caption] So far, the party had been content registering its protests in the media, condemning police action against the protestors and making a half-hearted demand for a special session of Parliament. Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has already rejected the BJP’s demand for a special session, maintaining that there was no need for it since the Winter Session of the House ended only a few days ago and Parliament took some time off to discuss the issue. A statement issued by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, after BJP’s core groupo meeting said the unprecedented outrage against the shameful episode in Delhi over the last one week reflected the national mood on the issue of women safety. There’s a call for a fresh look at the statute with a view to making its provisions dealing with deterrent against rape and gang rape highly stringent and truly effective. The party expressed “its complete solidarity with the youth of the country who waged a relentless battle against crime against women” and assured the “nation that the party will be in the vanguard of this crusade and strive to get justice to the rape victim”. The statement recounted how the BJP was on the forefront in raising the issue in Parliament when the incident occurred. “However, the response of the home minister was tame, timid and casual. In spite of deep revulsion and anger in the country the govt’s handling of the issue has been rather non-serious. Because of all this, the country erupted with anger led by the youth both, boys and girls who rightly want accountability and action,” she said. She claimed that “a serious initiative was taken by the BJP to channelise this anger into something constructive, namely to call for a special session of Parliament and an all-party meeting to discuss the whole issue and find tangible solutions."