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”. ADVERTISEMENT

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

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