Maneka to push for stronger NCW

Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 7

The Group of Ministers, constituted recently under Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to address issues arising from the Indian MeToo campaign, will meet for the first time this Monday with the Women and Child Development Ministry expected to pilot fresh reforms to tackle new challenges.

WCD Minister Maneka Gandhi is likely to push for a stronger National Commission for Women to enable it to handle a range of complaints related to sexual harassment at workplace. The ministry wants constitutional status for NCW, which currently has no legal powers to summon police officers or witnesses.

“We will demand powers of a judicial court for the NCW besides pushing for expansion of the commission. Instead of five members it presently has, the proposal is to have six,” WCD sources said.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that none of the survivors who revealed stories of sexual harassment at the hands of seniors in the MeToo drive have approached the government system for justice. The ministry hosts several platforms that enable victims to petition the government.