Shashi Tharoor Introduces Bill In Parliament To Criminalise Marital Rape: ‘Marriage Can’t Negate Right’

New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who has been at loggerheads with his party over his apparent ‘closeness’ with the BJP, on Friday introduced a private member’s bill in the Parliament to amend the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and remove the marital rape exception.

According to Tharoor, the bill seeks to criminalise marital rape in India and reaffirm that “marriage cannot negate the woman’s right to grant or deny consent”.

A private member’s bill is one which is introduced by a member of Parliament other than a minister, while a bill introduced by a minister is called a government bill.

Tharoor shared a statement of objects and reasons behind the bill, saying that criminalisation of marital rape is an “urgent necessity” in India’s legal framework.

“India must uphold its constitutional values and move from ‘No Means No’ to ‘Only Yes Means Yes,’. Every woman deserves the fundamental right to bodily autonomy and dignity within marriage, protections our legal system fails to provide,” Tharoor wrote on X.

“Marital rape is not about marriage but about violence. The moment for action has arrived,” he added.

2 more Private Member’s bills

Tharoor also sought to bring relief to the working population from possible burnout, through another private member’s bill on Friday. He introduced it to amend the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.

Tharoor referred to the death of a 26-year-old Ernst & Young (EY) employee in Pune, allegedly due to “overwhelming workload” in 2024, and made the point that it was clear overwork is harming professionals’ physical and mental health.

“Today I introduced a Private Member’s Bill to amend the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020. With 51% of India’s workforce clocking over 49 hrs/week and 78% experiencing burnout, tragically exemplified by the death of young Anna Sebastian Perayil, it is clear that overwork is harming our professionals’ physical and mental health,” Tharoor wrote on X, sharing the statement of objects and reasons behind the amendment.

Tharoor introduced one more another private member’s bill on Friday — this one to “establish a permanent States & Union Territories Reorganisation Commission to ensure any future creation or alteration of States/UTs is guided by objective data (including Census), clear definitions, administrative efficiency, economic viability, national unity, and the will of the people.”