UP: Will rape crisis centres act as deterrent or do we need stricter laws?
New Delhi/Lucknow: Calling the gangrape and murder oftwo girls in Badaun a "terrible" case and Uttar Pradesh government "insensitive", Women and Child Development (WCD) minister Maneka Gandhi today said the Centre would set up Rape Crisis Centres in all districts of the country rpt country by year-end.
"Insensitive, they are. I say this government should go. But even if a new government comes, till the time we don't provide ample protection to women, what will it do"? Gandhi said when asked if she thought that recurrence of crimes against women in UP reflected insensitivity on the part of the state government.
She said the incident in Badaun is a "terrible, terrible case" which is symptomatic of what is happening all over the country.
Gandhi said such incidents occurred because very few support services were available to women victims and added that her ministry had taken such crimes "very seriously".
"Even if there had been no Badaun, this was on my priority to establish functioning Rape Crisis Centres. These Centres would be serviced by policemen, lawyers, doctors....There would be ambulance and they will go hand in hand with a national helpline," she said.
The WCD minister said the government would set up and start at least one such centre in each of the districts and nearly Rs 500 crore could be allocated for the centres. She said the ministry had the funds to run such centres and more money from the 'Nirbhaya' fund could be considered. She said these Centres would start functioning by December.
Pointed out that many households do not have toilets and women were compelled to go out and on often became vulnerable to crimes against them, the minister replied that this was a priority area.
"In fact, I am happy to dedicate all my MPLAD funds to the making of toilets," Gandhi said.
Asked if she would visit Badaun to which she replied in the negative. She said her intent was to get working so that such incidents do not happen.
Meanwhile, in Lucknow, police used water cannons to disperse hundreds of women who were protesting outside the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's office against Badaun gang rape.
The protesters Monday were demonstrating outside the office of the top elected official in Uttar Pradesh, demanding that Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav crack down on increasing rape and other attacks on women and girls.
“If law and order situation doesn’t improve, (we) will protest at various places, we aren’t scared,” said a BJP Mahila Morcha protestor.
They also demanded the government act to curb police laxity and indifference, which they said were encouraging attacks on women. The BJP Mahila Morcha workers waved their bangles in protest.
Police failed to take any action when the father of one of the girls had complained that the two cousins were missing. Two police officers were fired for dereliction of duty after the girls were found gang-raped and killed.
