Opposition BJD and Congress Thursday demanded a stringent law in the state on the lines of the one passed recently in neighbouring West Bengal for women’s safety. On September 3, the West Bengal Assembly unanimously passed the ‘Aparajita Woman and Child Bill (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) Bill 2024’ that seeks capital punishment for rape convicts if their actions result in the victim’s death or leave her in a vegetative state, and life sentence without parole for other perpetrators.
Other significant features of the proposed legislation include the completion of probes into rape cases within 21 days of the initial report, a reduction from the previous two-month deadline, and a special task force where women officers will lead investigations. During discussion in Odisha Assembly, both the Opposition parties, the BJD and the Congress, alleged that the state’s BJP government has no sensitivity towards rape victims and none from the administration have met kin of the victims of rape-murder cases in Remuna in Balasore district, Naktideula in Sambalpur district, Patana in Keonjhar district and Bhubaneswar that took place after the formation of the new government in the state in June. Initiating a debate on the alleged rise in the number of rape-murder cases in the state, Opposition Chief Whip Pramila Mallik claimed that incidents of crime against women and children have increased alarmingly after the BJP came to power in the state.
Demanding Rs 10 lakh as compensation for the kin of the victim of rape and murder in Remuna area of Balasore district, Mallik said the nine-year-old girl was raped and murdered August 27, but government representatives were yet to visit their house. She also cited an instance from Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s home district of Keonjhar where a girl was raped and killed after being abducted. “This government lacks sensitivity and sympathy towards the victims and their families,” Mallik said, hailing the West Bengal government which has enacted a stringent law after the rape and murder of a woman doctor in Kolkata. Mallik said the BJP government in Odisha should also bring a similar law in the state to curb crimes against women and children. “The number of such cases is rising as there is no fear among criminals,” Mallik said alleging that atrocities on women and children have gone up significantly in the last three months after the Majhi-led government took charge. BJD member Goutam Buddha Das from Balasore district also came down heavily on the BJP and said that the new government has developed a habit of attacking the previous regime over crimes against women. However, the white paper issued recently showed that crimes like rape and murder had declined during the BJD rule, he claimed.
Senior Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati alleged that women and children were not safe in Odisha. Urging both the BJD and the BJP not to engage in mudslinging, Bahinipati said the state government must act promptly to prevent such incidents by bringing in a new law with stringent provisions to provide justice in a time-bound manner in cases of crime against women. Congress’s woman MLA Sofia Firdous also lashed out at both BJP and BJD for indulging in blame-game instead of focusing on the issue of increasing crimes against women. She blamed liquor as the major factor behind rape and murder cases in Balasore, Sambalpur and Bhubaneswar. To secure women and girls, Sofia suggested the state government provide proper education and impart lessons in self-defence to girls.
Replying on behalf of the Chief Minister and Home department in-charge Mohan Charan Majhi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Mahaling claimed that the police have swiftly arrested the accused persons, in some cases, within 24 hours of getting information about the incident. Stating that the BJP government was committed to protecting women and children, Mahaling said that it has not left any criminal to go free. All the accused have been arrested and the law is taking its course, he said. Dissatisfied with the minister’s reply, both the BJD and Congress members later walked out of the House in protest.