Shashi Tharoor introduces bill to criminalise marital rape: 'Marriage cannot negate right'

COngress MP Shashi Tharoor, in a call to criminalise married violate in republic of india, introduced a common soldier member’s bill in the Parliament on Friday amid the ongoing winter session to amend the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and remove the marital rape exception.The bill, according to Tharoor, seeks to reaffirm that “marriage cannot negate the woman’s right to grant or deny consent”.Sharing a statement of objects and reasons behind the bill, Tharoor wrote in a post on X that criminalisation of marital rape is an “urgent necessity in India’s legal framework”.Also read: 'Very valuable for us': What Shashi Tharoor said on Putin's visit to India“India must uphold its constitutional values and move from ‘No Means No’ to ‘Only Yes Means Yes,'. Every woman deserves the fundamental right to bodily autonomy and dignity within marriage, protections our legal system fails to provide,” Tharoor wrote on X.“Marital rape is not about marriage but about violence. The moment for action has arrived,” he added.Through another private member's bill on Friday, Tharoor sought to bring relief to the working population from possible burnout. He introduced it to amend the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.Referring to the death of a 26-year-old employee of the multinational consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY) in Pune, allegedly due to “overwhelming workload" in 2024, Tharoor said that it was clear that overwork is harming professionals’ physical and mental health.Sharing the statement of objects and reasons behind the amendment, Tharoor wrote in a post on X, “Today I introduced a Private Member's Bill to amend the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020. With 51% of India’s workforce clocking over 49 hrs/week and 78% experiencing burnout, tragically exemplified by the death of young Anna Sebastian Perayil, it is clear that overwork is harming our professionals’ physical and mental health.”Tharoor also introduced another private member's bill in the Parliament on Friday, this one to “establish a permanent States & Union Territories Reorganisation Commission to ensure any future creation or alteration of States/UTs is guided by objective data (including Census), clear definitions, administrative efficiency, economic viability, national unity, and the will of the people,” according to his X post.What is a Private Member's Bill?A private member's bill is a bill introduced by a member of the Parliament other than a minister, whereas, a bill introduced by a minister is called a government bill.