10 punch lines from #NaMo’s speech at SRCC

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday pitched the state’s model of growth and governance. Modi said that vote bank politics has spoilt the country and emphasised the need for good governance to make India globally competitive.

According to Modi all three major sectors of the economy viz., agriculture, industry and services should be given equal importance for development. This, he said, helps in overall development.

Here is a look at ten choicest punch-lines from his speech:

Nation of Mouse charmers

Mouse charmers: The youth of the nation has its finger on the mouse of computers and is changing the world. India’s journey has gone from snake charmers to mouse charmers!

Ignoring protests outside, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today used a college platform to project himself nationally saying his focus was on development politics and not that of vote-bank, which he said has “ruined” the nation.

India has a huge growth opportunity

“The ambassador of a nation asked me what major challenges India faces and I said the biggest one is that how we use opportunity. When asked what the opportunity was, I said the youth. Europe buddha ho chuka hai, China budha ho chuka hai.”

According to Modi India has a huge growth opportunity in the form of youth.

“Our country is not poor. We have vast resources, see eastern India is full of them. But we are unable to use that. We are unable to utilise the opportunity,” Modi said.

P2G2: Pro-people, good governance

“We need P2G2. Pro-People Good governance“: Pitching for the role of ‘good governance’, Modi said that the people of the country have sunk into an overwhelming state of pessimism.

“Even after six decades of freedom, the nation awaits good governance,” Modi said.

Speaking in Hindi on ‘Emerging business models in the global scenario’, Modi said the nation can progress by following ‘Gujarat model’ based on P2G2 (Pro-people good governance) principle.

Youth: New-age power

Youth ‘new-age power’, not ‘new-age voter’ alone. Youth have changed the way India is perceived today. Modi stressed the role of youth in the development of the nation.

His extempore speech was telecast live by news channels. “I am Chief Minister for a fourth term and based on my experience, with the same law, same Constitution, same rules and regulations, same officers, same people, same files, we can move forward. We can do a lot. I am confident that we can change things,” he said.

The glass is always full!

“I believe that the glass is full. One half with water and the other half with air.” There is despondency all over country but I am confident we can change the situation.

Picking up a glass of water, he said an optimist would say the glass is half full, while a pessimist would say it is half empty.

“I have a third point of view. For me the glass is always full — half with water and half with air. We can turn over the situation,” he said.

Milk in Delhi is from Gujarat

There must be no one in the audience who has chai without doodh from Gujarat in it. All the milk in Delhi is from Gujarat. Milk in Singapore is from Gujarat, Okra in Europe is from Gujarat.

Stating that the state’s agricultural sector has exhibited growth, Modi said, “If you go to Afghanistan, the people there have tomatoes that come from Gujarat.” Further talking about the development of the state, Modi said that the milk in Singapore and the ‘bhindi’ in Europe come from Gujarat.

Minimum government, maximum governance

Minimum government, maximum governance – this is my philosophy.

“This nation is being ruined by vote bank politics. This nation requires development politics. If we switch to politics of development, we will soon be in a position to bring about lasting change and progress,” Modi said.

“People feel nothing would change here. All are thieves, everything they do is waste. People consider it a curse to be born in India. They want to leave the country soon after completing their studies,” Modi said delivering the Shri Ram Memorial Oration.

Why not export teachers?

A businessman who goes abroad only captures dollars but a teacher influences a whole generation, said Modi while emphasising the need for education and promoting teaching as a vocation.

“We have created a university for teachers. I say we have so much youth and export so much, why not export teachers?”

Citing Gujarat’s mantra of success that can be emulated by the country for speedy progress, he said the focus should be on the manufacturing sector by making zero-defect products with good packaging.

Re-invent Made in India

Why shouldn’t we make the ‘Made in India’ tag a statement of quality for our manufactured products?,” he questioned.

Modi said there is a need to build the ‘Made in India’ brand. He drew a parallel between the credibility of a ‘Made in Japan’ tag and expressed the wish to have India reach such a level some day.

“The whole world says 21st century is India’s century. Some say it is Asia’s century, while some also say it is China’s century. I am confident that 21st century can be India’s century as knowledge is supreme,” he said.

Delhi’s Metro, Gujarat’s Coach!

Some years ago I launched a product which is now a part of Delhi. I launched a coach of the Delhi Metro! In Delhi all the metro coaches are coming from Gujarat.

Touting the recent ‘Vibrant Gujarat Summit’ which accepted the global relevance of Gujarat with the presence of 121 nations there, Modi said, “When the world sees this, they infuse confidence that we can do.”

PTI

Does India Need To Change Its Juvenile Law?

As India is fighting relentlessly for justice, a new finding in the Delhi gang rape case is questioning the concept of justice in the country.  It has been brought forth that the sixth suspect in the heinous rape is affirmed a minor. The Juvenile justice board (JJB) declared the sixth accused as a juvenile. As a minor below 18 years of age, he would probably face 3 years in juvenile detention at the most. This has created a stir in the nation imploring the justice system to modulate the law focused more on the crime than the age of the accused, reported Mark Magnier for LA Times.

If the sixth accused is tried as an adult he would join the rest of the five offenders who could face life imprisonment or even execution. Among the five, two of them Vinay Sharma, gym instructor and driver Mukesh Singh have also contended to be minors.

The police said that the action of the sixth suspect, who is reported to be 17 years and six months of age at the time of the crime, was most brutal. The suspect’s mother informed in an interview with the Reuters news service that he left home when he was 11 years old. The family lost all contacts with him and assumed him to be enslaved by someone or even dead. However he managed to get a job as an errand boy for a bus company.

The other five suspects are charged with murder, rape, kidnapping, robbery, destruction of evidence and criminal conspiracy. Now the case has taken an unlikely turn with the decision of JJB. Even though the justice system has fast tracked the case and is struggling with it, the country is expecting the most strict and severe punishment for the rapists.

The case has also highlighted the increasing number of juvenile offenders in India. As recorded that young Indians are migrating to the cities in large number, which has created a huge social disconnect and has intensified the gap between haves and have-nots, as informed by Bharti Ali, co-director of New Delhi’s Haq Center for Child Rights. She said, “The stark contradictions are right around them and very disturbing,” as reported by LA Times.

Juvenile crime has increased due to poor education, weak social services and persistent unemployment. As per the National Crime Records Bureau over 33,000 minors were arrested nationwide for serious crimes in 2011, the highest recorded number in the country in a decade. Over 1,400 cases of rape by juveniles were reported in 2011,opposed to 400 in 2001.

Shweta Kapoor, an attorney who practices before the Supreme Court filed a public-interest petition arguing that juvenile laws should be rewritten and the alleged juvenile suspect be charged as an adult based on his mental rather than physical age.

She said, “India needs faster handling of these cases as well so suspects don’t believe they can get away with such heinous crimes,” as reported by LA Times.
Krishna Tirath, minister for women and child development said the government wasn’t in favor of a reduction in the age of majority; however stringent punishment is needed in “rarest of rare” cases, like in the Delhi rape case.
As opposed by child-care advocates stating that Indian law makes allowances for immaturity, setting the marriageable age for boys at 21 and girls at 18, however, this principle shouldn’t be ignored when it’s convenient. If society is caught up in a media frenzy phase, as it’s said, it doesn’t mean there is no time or need to rewrite law.
Khusboo Jain, a sociologist who has done extensive research on street children, said, “The idea of justice right now is immediate and pretty vengeful. This would be bad precedent. Everyone would want every kid to be hanged. Rather than needed reform, we’re talking about retribution,” reported by LA Times.

The treatment juveniles get in India has been criticized for extensive brutality. The suspect held as juvenile was taken to the hospital with acute appendicitis apparently after he was beaten by other inmates at the juvenile home.
Raj, a 21 year old billboard painter said that he was arrested by police on theft charges at 16, beaten by them and made to sign blank papers. He was held in the nocuous Tihar jail for two months, before authorities reviewed documentary proof of his age and transferred him to a juvenile facility, where he learned to paint.

He said, “I don’t think the legal age for minors should be lowered, everyone should be given a second chance,” as reported by LA Times.

Another former detainee, a 26-year-old law student, Khan who received the first hand experience of the juvenile justice system decided to pursue a career in law. He said he believes the alleged juvenile suspect should be charged as an adult. He further said, “It’s not like an abandoned child stealing some food. We don’t need education to tell us that women should not be raped,” as reported by LA Times.

With the protest in the capital demanding faster and strict punishment, the justice system is still considering the matter from every angle. The sixth suspect, said to be the most brutal declared juvenile has added to the wrath of the mass, however, the need for fairer justice is voicing out for the law to be re-written in the country.

India continues to press for extradition of American who masterminded terrorist attack in Mumbai

India said that it would continue to press for the extradition of Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Headley, sentenced by a US court to 35 years in prison for his role in the terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008, and would have sought more punishment had he been tried here, France Press said.

A day after the Chicago court ruling, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said: “Had we tried him we would have sought much more.”

“We are a little disappointed as we wanted that he should have been brought here and tried as the real loss has been of India. It would have been appropriate if he would have been tried here,” Khurshid told reports in Delhi.

The American citizen of Pakistani origin David Headley was found guilty for his links with terrorists and masterminding the attack in Mumbai that killed 166 people. He pleaded guilty and co-operated with the US to avoid the death penalty and extradition to India.

American officials excluded the possibility of imposing death penalty and extradition to India despite appeals made by New Delhi.

Women Strip, Beat Politician Accused of Rape in North East India

As India awaits sentencing of the men who gang-raped a young woman in Delhi, a politician was arrested on rape charges in the northeastern state of Assam, then stripped and beaten by a crowd.

Bikram Singh Brahma, a member of the Congress Party in Assam and president of a district Congress committee in the state, was arrested Thursday for the alleged rape of a woman in Chirang, according to police officials.

“A case has been registered against him under I.P.C. 376 by the lady’s husband,” G.P. Singh, the zonal inspector general of police, said in a telephone interview, referring to the section of the Indian penal code that applies to rape.

Sanjit Krishna, the superintendent of police in the area, said in an interview that Mr. Brahma was also beaten and stripped by local women. Local television stations showed footage of several women ripping off Mr. Brahma’s shirt and smacking him on the face and stomach before several men join in to hit him.

Mr. Brahma attacked the woman last night while he was staying at her family’s house, Mr. Singh said on Thursday. “He was staying at their house, and under what circumstances will be the subject matter of the investigation,” he added.

Delhi rape spurs Indian women to rush for gun licenses

Indian protesters hold placards during a rally in New Delhi.(AFP Photo / Sajjad Hussain)

A sense of insecurity has gripped the female population in parts of India. As the ashes of the New Delhi gang rape victim were scattered over the Ganges River, hundreds of Indian women applied for firearm licenses and joined self-defense classes.

­Since the news of the brutal gang rape and murder broke in December, 274 Delhi women have applied for gun licenses, Delhi police said. Some 1,200 more have called the licensing department to inquire how to obtain one.

“These include not only the average working woman, but even students who travel long distances to colleges and even their concerned parents. They were eager to find out more on the procedure to acquire arms,” a Delhi police officer told The Times of India.

Hundreds turned up at the police department seeking permission to get a gun for self-defense, with officers having to explain that “a clear danger to one’s life” should exist for someone in India to be given a license.

“They said that with even public transport no longer safe in the city, they just cannot take chances. When we told them this could not be reason enough, we were told to provide in writing that their daughters were indeed safe on Delhi’s roads,” the officer added.

Not only do the women of India suffer from male violence with impunity, they are also discriminated against in their rights to legally acquire arms, the Indian National Association for Gun Rights said.

“The fact that even parents are ready to hand over weapons to their daughters shows they are living in fear. There is a 20% increase in self-defence courses across the city,” he concluded.

Out of more than 800 applications for guns received from women over the last two years, only a few dozen have been accepted by the Delhi police, with just a handful of licenses granted on the grounds of personal threats. Others were rejected as “no personal safety threat was assessed,” though “self-defense” is an increasingly popular reason provided in applications.

This may not stop some of the parents from buying guns on the black market, or illegally manufactured weapons. Of 40 million firearms in the hands of Indian civilians only 6.3 million have been registered, the international bulletin of firearm injury prevention GunPolicy.org estimates.

An Indian woman handles an Indian-made revolver at a newly opened gun shop in Lucknow.(AFP Photo / Pawan Kumar)

Raped for 40 days by 42 men

The widespread public anger due to the violence against women has been reflected in the press, which has been recalling similar tragedies from India’s recent past.

In 1999, a 16-year-old girl was abducted by a bus conductor in the Indian state of Kerala, who then raped her and passed on to others, 42 men raping her in turn for over a month. She was left out in the street severely injured, penniless, and ultimately disgraced, with her family having to move several times because of the mockery of their neighbors.

“Nobody accepts us; when they see us, they try to avoid us. We don’t go out,” the victim’s father was quoted as saying by India’s NDTV.

Of the 35 people convicted for raping the teenage girl, all but one were ruled not guilty when Kerala’s High Court reviewed the case three years later. The decision was heavily criticized, some activists claimed the rapists were set free because they were well connected in Kerala.

But unlike many others in India, the family has decided to fight till the end appealing against the verdict to the Supreme Court, and is now awaiting a hearing.

Despite the vast public attention for cases like this and the 2005 Domestic Violence Act outlawing all forms of violence against females; rape, abduction and trafficking of women and girls remains a major problem in India.

“Women and girls continue to be sold as chattels, married off as young as 10, burned alive as a result of dowry-related disputes, and young girls exploited and abused as domestic slave labour,” Save the Children activist Gulshun Rehman said.

This, combined with widely reported police indifference, sparked the mass protests on the streets of Delhi calling for more effective laws and law enforcement to ensure the safety of women in the most-populous democratic country in the world.

A student prays during a vigil for a gang rape victim, who was assaulted in New Delhi, in Ahmedabad.(Reuters / Amit Dave)

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• Pakistan groups hold candle light vigil for Delhi gang-rape victim (ktrmurali.wordpress.com)

Chinese daily flays India over rapes

India‘s “inefficient and unequal democracy” cannot provide answers to social evils and that is why angry citizens are taking to the streets, an influential Chinese newspaper has said.

“The Indian democratic system seemingly can’t solve these problems but provides legitimacy for them,” the Global Times said in a commentary after the death of a 23-year-old who had been gang-raped and tortured in Delhi.

“India’s democracy is now manipulated by a small number of elite and interest groups. This easily ignites massive grass-roots protests like the current ones and the anti-corruption rallies in August.”

The street protests in New Delhi offered a lesson to China, said the Global Times write-up by Lin Xu.

“Six decades ago, China and India maintained a similar development level, but there has been a widening gap after China explored reform and opening-up,” it said.

“Analysts hold that India is about a decade behind China in economic development and three decades behind in social development.”

But the Times noted that as the world’s biggest democratic country, India was seen in the West as having great potential due to its superior system.

“But an inefficient and unequal democracy is unlikely to be able to mobilise this potential.

“The Indian government is criticized for having reacted slowly and India’s law enforcement system is considered sloppy.

“Rape cases in India have a conviction rate of as low as 26% even when they reach court. Moreover, the traditional social culture that devalues women should be condemned.

“Democracy should ensure effective public participation in national politics and supervision of the government. Efficient democracy means more than electoral politics,” it said.

Global Times, which represents hardline thinking in China, went on to say that the abuse of women in India was shocking.

It quoted statistics to say that 572 rapes were recorded in New Delhi in 2011, and rape cases went up seven times in the past 40 years.

“Over the past few weeks, violence against women in India received prominent attention worldwide, most of which dwelt on the root causes of the problem.”

India’s anger exposes gormless leaders and media

A 23-year old girl, raped and beaten to pulp by half a dozen goons, battled for life in Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital for almost thirteen days; a day before the end she was flown to a Singapore hospital in a vain last-ditch attempt to save her life. She died early in the morning of December 29. Her injuries were so severe that an ordinary person may not have survived even for a day, but ‘Nirbhaya’ as a section of the media began to call her, wanted to live. Nirbhaya in Hindi means fearless, not the hallmark of the current political class and their media minions.

The candle light vigils and prayers for the young student of physiotherapy were a major protest to make life safer for women. The goons are already behind bars and the judiciary will have to handle this one very carefully. The government has already announced two inquiry commissions, one to look into women’s safety and another to speed up trial and conviction in rape cases.

Sensing trouble during the week-long mass protests, the administration and Delhi Police bared their fangs with mindless violence and restriction on the movement of citizens. Using water cannon in freezing Delhi, they somehow managed to disperse the protesters and yet they kept coming to India Gate, President’s House and the homes of senior leaders. The National Police Commission’s lengthy eight volume report published from 1979 to 1981 in which there were many important recommendations on handling rape cases as well as public issues are still gathering dust.

Normally, Christmas to New Year is a raucous week, but not this time. It’s been quiet and solemn. Many are quietly shedding tears, young and old alike.

 The pompous pontificating of major western media [BBC, CNN, Fox, etc] projecting sexual harassment as a way of life in India was gross propaganda and purposive dysinformation. Has the BBC ever uncovered the paedophiles masquerading as brain dead ruling Elites in British society? Has CNN and Fox done anything  to unravel why San Fernando valley is home to global pornography where thousands of unsuspecting women are lured into drugs and sex and disposed off like dregs of the society and no one notices it? Has the New York Times exposed the porn industry in which some US Senators have major shareholding? Has any newspaper reporter exposed the fact that woman Peace Corps volunteers from prestigious US universities in Cambodia sleep with 12-14 year old poor girls?  

 And despite the powerful feminist movement in Anglo-Saxon countries, are women safe there? Their conviction rate is as bad as India’s but I’d like to see a mass protest there when a raped girl dies as we have seen here. Europeans don’t have a monopoly to civility and being do-gooders.

 When Sextus Tarniquinius raped Lucretia in ancient Rome, Lucretia committed suicide. Sextus was son of the King Tarquin of Rome. Lucretia’s dead body was paraded through the streets of Rome. People revolted and banished the King and his son from the Kingdom paving the way for what eventually became the Roman Empire.  

 The dull, brainless western and Indian mainstream media’s sole responsibility now is not to state the truth as it is, but to project a criminal ruling class as do-gooders. It could have reformed today’s closely integrated global society; instead it shamed and discredited our profession. Since these rogues have chosen to be the minions of the ruling class, many more young girls and minor children and many more nations will be violated.  

by Arun Shrivastava

Delhi gang rape victim dies in Singapore hospital

At about 3.21 am on Saturday the super speciality hospital in Singapore announced the death of the 23 year old gang rape victim.

Hospital chief executive Kelvin Loh told the BBC that she had passed away due to multi organ failure due to “serious injuries to her body and her brain.”. He also added that “she was courageous” in fighting for her life for so long” against the odds “but the trauma to her body was too severe.”

According to hospital authorities she had been sinking ever since she had arrived in Singapore. In fact the doctors in Delhi, who had been attending to her told DNA on the request of anonymity that shifting her had led to further trauma to her. The journey had proved to be hazardous and she had suffered another seizure in the special aircraft while enroute to Singapore.

On December 26, she had suffered two cardiac arrests and Dr Naresh Trehan had been rushed to Safdarjung Hospital secretly to assess her condition. She had started having multi-organ failure and an infection to her brain had started spreading.

Doctors also told DNA that she had been put on a ventilator as soon as she landed in Singapore as her capacity to breathe on her own had collapsed.The Indian High Commission alerted itsaa superiors in New Delhi at 3.30 am as soon as the news was officially communicated to them. According to the Singapore hospital officials the girl’s family was with her when she breathed her last.

The Delhi Police immediately announced strict measures to restrict movement out of fear that protests would erupt. In fact, the union cabinet had decided to fly her out of Delhi after spontaneous protests broke out in the heart of Delhi. Last week had seen several surges of protests when protesters marched to South and North Block that houses the Prime Minister’s Office and the union home ministry as well as Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Arrangements are being made to fly her back to India.

HIGH ALERT IN DELHI

All roads leading to India Gate, Rajpat and Vijaychowk, where violent clashes broke out over the last weekend in the wake of the brutal assault, were barricaded, have been closed. The Delhi Police tightened security across the national capital on Saturday as soon as the news of the death of the victim reached.

The Delhi traffic police posted a tweet early this morning: “Entire central Vista including Rajpath, Vijay Chowk and all road leading to India Gate will be closed for general traffic, Kamal Attaturk Marg also closed. All travelers (sic) are advised to avoid these roads..”

10 metro stations have been closed. These include Rajiv Chowk, Barakhambha Road,

PM’s CONDOLENCE MESSAGE

PM Manmohan Singh condoled the death of the 23-year-old medical student. His message:

I am deeply saddened to learn that the unfortunate victim of the brutal assault that took place on December 16 in New Delhi has succumbed to the grievous injuries she suffered following that attack. I join the nation in conveying to her family and friends my deepest condolences at this terrible loss. I want to tell them and the nation that while she may have lost her battle for life, it is up to us all to ensure that her death will not have been in vain. We have already seen the emotions and energies this incident has generated. These are perfectly understandable reactions from a young India and an India that genuinely desires change.

It would be a true homage to her memory if we are able to channelize these emotions and energies into a constructive course of action. The need of the hour is a dispassionate debate and inquiry into the critical changes that are required in societal attitudes. Government is examining, on priority basis, the penal provisions that exist for such crimes and measures to enhance the safety and security of women.

I hope that the entire political class and civil society will set aside narrow sectional interests and agenda to help us all reach the end that we all desire – making India a demonstrably better and safer place for women to live in. I pray for the peace of the departed soul and hope that her family will have the strength to bear this grievous loss.

SIGNIFICANT BRAIN INJURY

The Singapore hospital said earlier that the woman had suffered “significant brain injury” and was surviving against the odds. She had already undergone three abdominal operations before being flown to Singapore. Protests over the lack of safety for women erupted across India after the attack, culminating last weekend in pitched battles between police and protesters in the heart of New Delhi. New Delhi has been on edge since the weekend clashes. Hundreds of policemen have been deployed on the streets of the capital and streets leading to the main protest site, the India Gate war memorial, have been shut for long periods, severely disrupting traffic in the city of 16 million. Commentators and sociologists say the rape has tapped into a deep well of frustration that many Indians feel over what they see as weak governance and poor leadership on social and economic issues. Many protesters have complained that Singh’s government has done little to curb the abuse of women in the country of 1.2 billion.

A global poll by the Thomson Reuters Foundation in June found that India was the worst place to be a woman because of high rates of infanticide, child marriage and slavery.

New Delhi has the highest number of sex crimes among India’s major cities, with a rape reported on average every 18 hours, according to police figures.

Government data show the number of reported rape cases in the country rose by nearly 17 percent between 2007 and 2011.

Saikat Datta

Delhi gang-rape survivor’s condition worsens

Mount Elizabeth Hospital

 

The condition of the 23-year-old victim of a gruesome gang-rape in Delhi, admitted in a super-speciality hospital here yesterday, has taken a “turn for the worse” tonight with signs of severe organ failure.

“As of 9 pm (6:30 PM IST), the patient’s condition has taken a turn for the worse. Her vital signs are deteriorating with signs of severe organ failure,” Dr Kelvin Loh, Chief Executive Officer, Mount Elizabeth Hospital said in a statement.

“This is despite doctors fighting for her life including putting her on maximum artificial ventilation support, optimal antibiotic doses as well as stimulants which maximise her body’s capability to fight infections,” the CEO said.

“Her family members have been informed that her condition has deteriorated and they are currently by her side to encourage and comfort her,” he added.

The statement said the hospital’s medical team continues to “provide all possible treatment and care”, to the victim, who was air-dashed from the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi for specialised treatment.

He said the the High Commission of India is with her and her family at this critical time.

The girl was gang-raped and brutally assaulted in a moving bus on December 16, triggering massive protests across India and prompting the government to airlift her to the leading multi-organ transplant speciality hospital.

She had undergone three surgeries at the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, where she remained on ventilator support during most part of the treatment. Doctors removed major part of her intestines which had become gangrenous.

Earlier in the day, the security was tightened at the hospital, favoured by well-heeled patients, with each visitor screened before being allowed into the ICU.

The victim’s father, who flew in with her, said he was reassured that the best is being done for his daughter.

The High Commission of India has assigned a liaison officer with the family.

The girl was shifted to the hospital here following what the Indian government said a “purely a medical decision” taken by doctors.

Delhi gang-rape: PM’s wife expresses outrage, calls for severe punishment

The prime minister’s wife Gursharan Kaur on Monday joined the people in expressing outrage over the gang-rape of a young girl and said severe punishment should be meted out to the culprits.

She, at the same time, said any protest against the “ghastly” crime should be peaceful as it would yield more results than violent demonstrations.

The December 16 incident in a moving bus in Delhi was a “very bad incident” and that she was at loss of words in expressing her condemnation, she said.

“We all are very sad at this incident but if they (protests) are conducted in a peaceful manner, they will yield more results,” Kaur told reporters on the sidelines of the release of a book Sikh Heritage Ethos and Relics in Delhi.

“This is a horrible crime…Such incident need to be condemned in the strongest possible way,” she said.

Kaur said severe punishment needed to be handed down to the accused and that there was a need for fast-track courts to deal with such cases.