Police stop students who were holding a protest march against the rape and murder of the Kerala student in Kochi. (PTI photo)
Raising the issue of the brutal rape and murder of a 30-year-old Dalit student, Richard Hay, a nominated Lok Sabha member from the Anglo-Indian community, said Kerala should no longer be called "God's own country" as the "devil" had taken over.
"Kerala is a 100 per cent literate state. It is called God's own country. Does this description fit Kerala? It has now become devil's own country," Mr Hay said.
He alleged the Congress-led government in Kerala has taken no action to arrest the rapist even as atrocities on Dalits and women are on the rise.
Meenakshi Lekhi, BJP lawmaker from Delhi, argued for death penalty in gruesome cases of sexual assault. "This wouldn't happen if we put the fear of God and law," said adding, "This House passed the law when the Nirbhaya incident took place and we agreed that death penalty should be given."
Ms Lekhi said the state government's "inaction" is an example of "moral bankruptcy of the administration".
Though Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge was present in the House, he didn't respond to the attacks on the Congress-led government. But Parliamentary Affairs Venkaiah intervened and said: "This is a serious issue. As we debate this, another nursing student has been raped and killed. Let us not look at this through a political angle especially since elections are on. I will convey sense of the House to the Home Minister."
The law student was stabbed 30 times and found by her mother with her intestines pulled out a week ago in Kerala's Ernakulam. Her back was covered with bite marks. It was only yesterday that the police cordoned off her house as a crime scene and brought in forensic experts to collect evidence, fuelling public anger over the crime and the lax response to it.