Day after spat between ministries, Sonia vows passage of Anti-Rape Bill - The New Indian Express

After reports of a tussle among ministries derailing the anti-rape bill made headlines across the country, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Finance Minister P Chidambaram got into damage control mode on Friday, asserting that the bill will be passed without further delay. If Sonia Gandhi made use of a ceremony at the Bhagat Phool Singh Mahila University in Haryana on International Women's Day to say that "our heads hang in shame because of these (incidents of) rape and crime against women'' and assured that the anti-rape law will be passed very soon, Chidambaram said a special meeting of the Union Cabinet may be called soon to clear the bill. It was reported on Thursday that the anti-rape bill could not get the Cabinet's approval after the Ministries of Law and Women & Child Development objected to amendments by the Home Ministry, especially the move to replace the phrase 'sexual assault' with 'rape'. In response to the public outrage over the Delhi gang-rape victim's death, the Finance Minister had, in the recent Budget, earmarked Rs 1,000 crore each for opening women's banks and a Nirbhaya Fund. The UPA could therefore not take reports of ministerial quibbles coming in the way the anti-rape bill, lying down. Sounding rather miffed, Chidambaram on Friday termed reports accusing the government of not being serious on the law as "unjustified". Asserting that the Home Ministry was putting together the bill, he said, "It will come to the Cabinet — may be there will a special Cabinet meeting" for early approval of the bill. He also tried to gloss over reported differences in the government. Law Minister Ashwini Kumar was fielded to dispel the notion of a divided house. via Top Stories - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHzVVFKO3Atp2rDWRdmMv6PrsBO6Q&url=http://newindianexpress.com/nation/article1493970.ece

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