New Delhi:
Answering a query about sexual violence within marriages during the Question Hour in Rajya Sabha on February 2, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sushil Kumar Modi said that the criminalisation of marital rape will end the institution of marriage.
Modi’s statement came as an answer to a question on the issue by Communist Party of India (CPI) MP Binoy Viswam. He also asked if the government was in favour of criminalising marital rape.
Replying to Viswam’s question, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said that since the matter is sub-judice, she cannot elaborate on the matter. She, however, said that it would not be advisable to condemn every marriage in the country as violent and every man as a rapist.
“The matter of marital rape is sub-judice. There are over 30 helplines in the country which have assisted women. Protection of women and children is a priority of the government,” Smriti Irani said. Viswam also clarified that he never meant every man is a rapist.
Earlier, when the House assembled at 10 am on Wednesday, Chairman Venkaiah Naidu read the obituary message and said that the Indian government has announced humanitarian aid to Tonga after it was hit by tsunami.
Naidu began the session with obituary references to Archbishop Desmond Tutu and David Sassoli, former President of the European Parliament, who passed away recently. IANS