Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday introduced three private member’s bills in the Lok Sabha, including one seeking to criminalise marital rape, asserting that India must move from a “no means no” framework to “only yes means yes”.
In a post on X, the MP from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram said criminalising marital rape is an urgent necessity in India's legal framework and introduced his private member's bill to amend the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and remove the marital rape exception, reaffirming that marriage cannot negate a woman's right to grant or deny consent.
"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. Marital rape is not about marriage but about violence. The moment for action has arrived," he said.
The statement of objects and reasons accompanying the bill noted that Section 63 of the BNS, 2023, currently excludes marital rape from punishable offences, allowing men to engage in non-consensual sex with their wives provided they are over 18.
This, the statement added, is a colonial-era legal relic rooted in patriarchal notions that treat wives as property, leaving married women legally defenceless and undermining their rights to dignity, safety, and bodily autonomy.
"Allowing a husband to force sex upon his wife disregards her autonomy and perpetuates a culture of control and gender-based violence. Similarly, factors unrelated to a woman's autonomy, such as her caste, profession, clothing choices, personal beliefs or past sexual conduct, should never be used to presume her consent.
Such assumptions not only perpetuate gender-based inequality but also violate her fundamental rights and dignity. They must be unequivocally rejected," the statement said.
Tharoor’s second private member’s bill seeks to establish a permanent States and Union Territories Reorganisation Commission.
According to the bill’s statement, this body would guide future state and Union territory reorganisation based on objective data, administrative efficiency, economic viability, national unity, and public consent. “A pre-planned, consistent study of reorganisation will ensure informed decision-making and stable administrative units rather than knee-jerk reactions,” it noted.
His third bill proposes amendments to the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, in response to overwork and burnout among India’s workforce.
Highlighting that 51% of workers log more than 49 hours a week and 78% report burnout, Tharoor emphasised the need to legally secure the right to disconnect, limit working hours, and establish grievance and mental-health support mechanisms.“By focusing on employee well-being, this Bill seeks to create a more sustainable and productive workforce for India’s future,” the statement said.