Banglapress Desk: Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader today said the lawmakers who demanded “crossfire” for the rapists expressed their personal opinions at the parliament.
“They expressed their own opinions, that is not the stance of their parties or the government,” Quader said at a press briefing regarding contemporary issues held at his office at the secretariat in Dhaka.
“I was abroad when the MPs placed their demand (crossfire for rapists). Later I saw online that they demanded such measures to stop rape incidents,” Quader said.
During the parliamentary session on January 14, some senior lawmakers including Awami League MP Tofail Ahmed, opposition Jatiya Party MP Mujibul Haque Chunnu and JP MP Kazi Firoz Rashid, demanded that the law enforcement agencies kill rapists “in crossfire” to stop rape incidents, which have increased alarmingly in recent times.
Coming from both the treasury and the opposition benches, they also called on the government to amend the existing law to incorporate a provision for the death penalty for rapists.
The MPs also urged the Speaker to set a date to discuss how to end the scourge of rape and why such incidents have lately shot up.
BP/CS
