Following the differences in the Cabinet over newly proposed anti rape law provisions failed to give clean chit to be cleared, now a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram is likely to finalise it.
A 24 hours deadline has hit for GoM to finalize the government’s proposed anti-rape legislation till Thursday by reconciling their differing opinions.
Yesterday, all Cabinet met held to debate provisions of new tough laws through an ordinance introduced last month by President after a nationwide outcry erupted following the death of a medical student who was brutally gang-raped on a Delhi moving bus three months ago.
Lots of differences among ministers are yet to reach a consensus. Congress favoured changes in the ordinance as the previous could be objected to by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, source said.
Other point includes replacement of the gender specific word ‘rape’ in the bill and lowering the age of consent from 18 to 16.
To handle all these and passed the Bill as soon as possible, UPA is calling for an all-party meet on March 18 to take the Opposition on board with the Bill in wake to bring Anti-Rape Bill with changes on Parliament.
Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar confident that the anti-rape Bill will be tabled in this session of Parliament before March 22, when the ordinance will lapse.
