Today is the second anniversary of the Nirbhaya gang rape. On this occasion, I spoke in Parliament on an important lesson from that incident -- the need to encourage bystanders to help injured victims. Excerpt from my speech: The victim and her friend were lying on the road for a long time, and no one came forward to help them. No one took the two youngsters to a hospital, an act that could perhaps have saved this young woman’s life. No one bothered to do that, and if we look at it critically, the reason for such inaction on the part of our fellow citizens is perhaps fear. Fear, that if they come forward to help someone in need, they will be pulled into an endless cycle of police interrogations and court hearings… Fear, that this one act of humanity might turn into an ordeal that will drag on for years to come. Fear, that is stopping our citizens from saving lakhs of lives every year. In India, 15 people die every hour in road accidents. The number of deaths due to road traffic accidents in just the last decade is close to one million. The number of people who die due to road accidents in India is more than the individual populations of 27 countries across the world… I strongly feel that today, we must have a law to protect the rights of Good Samaritans, and ensure they don’t face any legal hassles. We must have a law that obligates hospitals to give first aid and emergency care to all patients that are brought to them. We must have a law in the country, which allows citizens to take an injured person to a hospital, and then choose to stay and help, or leave and move forward, depending on their convenience… I have introduced a Private Member’s Legislation to this effect, last week. I have also submitted a petition, signed by nearly 90,000 people, to the Honourable Health Minister, Shri JP Nadda ji. I feel the Govt must bring in a law that addresses this issue in a comprehensive manner, and I request today, that the Govt give an assurance -- not just to this House, but to the people of this country -- that this will be considered and brought in.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 08:00:55 +0000