Gangrape of a woman and her teenaged daughter and alleged atrocities on Dalits were among several issues raised in Lok Sabha today.
Congress member Sushmita Dev said despite strengthening several laws to protect women and children, law enforcement agencies have failed to protect children and incidents like the one in Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh where a woman and her daughter were brutally raped, continued to occur.
"Situation has reached such a stage that the family has now threatened to commit suicide if the culprits are not arrested. Uttar Pradesh government has failed to provide security to women and children," she said during Zero Hour.
Referring to alleged trafficking of 33 girls from Assam to Gujarat and Punjab, Dev named a right-wing organisation saying three outfits, which were allegedly involved in the incident, had close links with this organisation, prompting protests from Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar.
After Kumar's protests, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan ordered expunction of the name of the organisation from the records.
Dev urged the government to probe and take strong action against the three outfits.
BJP MP Raghav Lakhanpal said the Bulandshahar incident reflected the "dismal law and order" situation in Uttar Pradesh and alleged that the state government has failed to provide security in highways.
He urged the Centre to frame a cohesive policy to enable every state raise a security force, equipped with latest technology and vehicles, to handle any crime on highways.
TMC member Saugata Roy raised the issue of alleged atrocities on Dalits in different parts of the country and asked the Prime Minister to take steps to stop such attacks.
Roy also referred to the case of a 27-year-old youth, who allegedly consumed pesticide and attempted suicide in Saurashtra in Gujarat, to register outrage over the humiliation of Dalits by cow vigilantes in Una.
"Dalits have held a massive protest in Ahmedabad on Sunday against public flogging of their community members who were skinning a dead cow at Una. Atrocities on Dalits are taking place in different parts of the country including Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh," he said.
Roy said a BJP leader in Uttar Pradesh made obscene remarks against Dalit leader Mayawati while a BJP MP, Udit Raj, has been vocal against the 'so called protectors of Hinduism' strangely enough.
"The Prime Minister has remained silent over the atrocities on dalits in the country, including in his home state of Gujarat. He did not speak anything in the matter in his 'Mann ki Baat' on Sunday. Only the Gujarat CM has resigned. Now, the Prime Minister must take some steps to stop such atrocities on Dalits in the country," he said.
