Rajnath Singh promises action against Uber taxi driver

NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday assured the Lok Sabha that all necessary steps would be taken to ensure that justice is done in the alleged rape of a young woman by an Uber taxi driver in his car.

The Congress responded to this by saying that current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then campaigning for the elections, had called Delhi "the rape capital" after the Nirbhaya incident. It said crimes against women in the national capital had risen 15 per cent in the six months since the Modi government had assumed office.

Even as some Opposition members in the Lok Sabha sought to raise the incident, the home minister made a suo moto statement. "The government of India strongly condemns this dastardly act. It will be ensured that all necessary steps are taken to bring the offender to justice," Singh said.

The Congress questioned the rationale of banning a service by asking whether the authorities would similarly cancel bus and metro services if a similar crime took place there. "When the child develops teething problems, nobody abandons the baby but takes steps to ensure the problem is taken care off. We, therefore, demand exemplary action against the culprit and measures to reinforce the safety of women," Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said. On Monday, the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress workers staged protest marches near the residence of the home minister.