Oppn leaders seek special session

Kejriwal urges UPA government to pass Sexual Assault Bill pending in Lok Sabha

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, BSP supremo Mayawati and Aam Admi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday demanded that a special session of Parliament be convened to enact a stringent law against rape.

Swaraj called up Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and demanded an all-party meeting to address the public anger. In her tweet, she said the anger of “yong friends” is genuine and requested for some time to work out a solution. “Please do not resort to violence. It is not the solution,” she added.

Kejriwal, who led a protest at Jantar Mantar, sought immediate enactment of the Sexual Assault Bill currently pending before the Lok Sabha either by bringing an ordinance or by convening a special session.

“We appeal to the protesters to maintain the peaceful and democratic character of this protest, despite grave provocation from police forces. We call upon this spontaneous movement to guard against miscreants whose irresponsible action may provide the establishment with the excuse that they have been looking for,” it added.

BSP chief Mayawati wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in which she demanded convening of a special session of Parliament to enact a stringent law against rape and said the occasion could also be used to pass the quota bill. Meanwhile, Sushma Swaraj, in her tweet, suggested the Delhi Chief Minister to patrol the police stations at night. “ The Delhi CM should do precisely this… I used to patrol the city and Police stations whole night,” she said explaining her own work in a short stint as Delhi chief minister in October 1998.Though Shinde said there is no need to call a special session of Parliament, the BJP insisted for it to discuss the “entire gamut of law and order issue” arising out of the sexual offence against a 23-year-old girl. Party spokesperson Prakash Javedkar interpreted youth anger spilling over the streets as a “wake-up call” and a “warning” to the UPA government, which, he said, has “failed miserably” to protect women.