New Delhi: Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi on Wednesday said her ministry has not received any official complaint relating to 'love jihad', but as an MP she has been apprised of a few such cases.
Asked about the issue of "love jihad", Gandhi said at a press conference here, "...We have had no official complaint in the ministry, so as a minister, I cannot say that we have..."
"However, as a Member of Parliament, in my constituency people have come and complained to me and there have been about seven to eight such cases which we have referred to the police. So I am going to separate the two," she added.
Responding to another question, Gandhi sought to clarify her earlier controversial remarks suggesting that money earned from illegal animal slaughter was being used for perpetrating acts of terrorism.
Gandhi said she was quoting from a report of the Uttar Pradesh police. She also said that a leading daily had put that report of the UP police on its front page.
She was asked to comment on the reversals suffered by her party in the recent bypolls, especially in UP. "That's so sad, I work so hard. I can't answer a political question here because I am confined to the ministry. But as far as I know, I work really hard and that's not fair," she said.
Asked whether she would like to comment on the absence of star campaigners, including her son Varun, during the bypolls, she said, "Absolutely not", and then quipped ".... okay, so now we are just going to bring him back".
As part of the awareness campaign, the WCD ministry will also stage plays in villages and show films to educate children so that they can guard against physical abuse.
Also, the Ministry will form teams which will inspect all the homes across the country to see if children are being given proper facilities and environment.
In a step towards curbing child abuse, India has enacted a law for Protection of Children from Sexual Offences.
A 2007 report on children abuse by the WCD ministry says that two out of every three children were found to be physically abused.
Out of 69 per cent children physically abused in 13 sample states, 54.68 per cent were boys. Over 50 per cent children in all sample states were being subjected to one or the other form of physical abuse.
Further in terms of sexual abuse, 53.22 per cent children reported having faced one or more forms of sexual abuse. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Delhi reported the highest percentage of sexual abuse among both boys and girls.
Further 21.90 per cent child respondents reported facing severe forms of sexual abuse and 50.76 per cent other forms of sexual abuse.
