Will do any sacrifice for tougher law for rape: Maliwal

Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson Swati Maliwal, who is on an indefinite hunger strike demanding a stringent law against rapists, continued it for the seventh day on Thursday, saying she is ready to sacrifice anything to get her demands accepted.

"The Prime Minister during his speech in London said a rape is rape, it shouldn't be politicised. But, I want to know who is then politicising it? We (DCW) are not politicising it.

"We want implementation of a law which punishes convicted rapists within six months. I request him to take some action instead of providing verbal assurance," Maliwal, 33, said at Raj Ghat where she is sitting on protest.

Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja joined Maliwal on the seventh day and questioned Modi's "politicising recent rape incidents" comment and promised the DCW chief of raising the issue in Parliament in monsoon session.

In a letter to Modi written last week, the DCW chief said: "I will not break my 'anshan' (fast) until the Prime Minister promises the country a better system for the safety of our daughters."

As a mark of protest against the recent rape incidents in Kathua and Unnao, Maliwal launched her hunger strike at Raj Ghat last week.

The civil society also extended their support to Maliwal, saying they were with her in strongly and unequivocally condemning the brutality of rapes.

However, it also appealed her to withdraw her indefinite hunger strike, saying there was no evidence to suggest that death penalty acted as a deterrent to rape.

"Death penalty is often used to distract attention away from the real issue -- it changes nothing but becomes a tool in the hands of the state to further exert its power over its citizens. A huge set of changes are required in the system to end the widespread and daily culture of rape," it said in a statement.

--IANS

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