Union minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday took strong exception to the choice of words by a BJP lawmaker while discussing sexual crimes against children, in Parliament. Harnath Singh Yadav, a BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh, was even asked by the Amethi MP to be “a little decent”.
During a debate on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in the Rajya Sabha, Yadav blamed television and social media for the rise in sexual offenders. “What we are serving is what we are getting," he said.
Touching upon the issue of pornography, he joked about how he was once confused between porn and popcorn.
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"My friend came to visit me and he started talking about porn. I was confused. I have heard of popcorn, but not porn," Yadav said.
This prompted Irani, who had introduced the bill in the upper house on Tuesday, to intervene and urge the lawmaker to be careful in his choice of words.
"Yadav ji is elder to me, but there are a lot of women sitting here and this discussion is being viewed by the entire country. Please be a little decent while explaining your concerns," Irani told the lawmaker.
Cutting across party lines, Rajya Sabha members on Wednesday supported amendments to the POCSO Act seeking death penalty for aggravated sexual assault on children besides providing stringent punishments for other crimes against minors.
