BJP, Cong MPs hit the same note on ragging

Cutting across party lines, Rajya Sabha members suggested ways in which the government could effectively implement the Supreme Court’s directives on ragging. Nandini R Iyer reports.

Cutting across party lines, Rajya Sabha members suggested ways in which the government could effectively implement the Supreme Court’s directives on ragging.

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The day, however, belonged to BJP’s Prakash Jawadekar and his two-sentence-long speech. He wanted the government to set in place a curriculum that had a strong anti-ragging message. He proposed a provision for 10-year imprisonment for those caught ragging.

Congress’ T Subbarami Reddy suggested that all educational institutions take a written undertaking from parents of students making the parents liable for prosecution and punishment if their children were to rag others. “This,” he said, “would ensure that parents exert greater pressure on their children to steer clear of ragging.” Reddy also ridiculed the theme of ragging as a precursor to love in Indian films. “This is a recurrent theme in our films. Heroes rag girls who then fall in love with them,” he said.