Bhopal Express eve-teasing incident reverberates in Parliament

New Delhi, Mar 11 (UNI) Railway Minister Lalu Prasad might be receiving kudos from many quarters for his ''magic'' Railway budget, but he today got very poor marks, both from the Opposition and the Treasury benches, when it came to the safety of women in trains.

''You want women to progress , but you can't ensure even a safe travel for them,'' said Ms Sushila Triya of the Congress while referring to yesterday's eveteasing incident in the Bhopal Express during a discussion on the Railway budget in the Rajya Sabha.

Stressing that all progress of Railways would be meaningless unless the Government took note of the security lapses, the Congress Member said it was very worrying for all that today women were molested, raped and murdered in trains.

She felt that women's endeavour to break-free of their traditional roles and keep a pace with the development in the 21rst century would remain a remote dream in a country which cannot provide safety to them in their movement.

The Members urged the Railway Minister to take immediate steps to increase security for women in rail travel.

The Bhopal express eve-teasing incident also agitated another member Dr Gyan Prakash Pillania of the BJP.

In the incident that took place near Palwal, which is close to Delhi, some local pasengers forced themselves into a reserved bogey that was carryoing 57 BEd sudents and seven teachers of the Delhi university from an educational trip. The intruders pressed for sitting with girls, passed obscene remarks at them and attacked the students and teachers when they objected to their action. Four of the students have been admitted to AIIMS trauma centre.

Dr Pillania said the incident has caused great concern to all, and shows the increasing rate of crime on trains.

''Today's trains are neither safe nor 'saaf' (clean),'' he said.

The Memeber urged the Railway Minister to pay immediate attention to the security in the trains.

UNI NAZ MSJ RN1754