Pune, Dec 8: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday said bringing laws to curb atrocities against women was not the only solution as "political will" and "administrative skills" were required to end the social evil.
Referring to recent incidents in Unnao and Hyderabad, Naidu said, "In Indian culture, we treat a woman as a mother, a sister. But what has happened in recent days in certain parts is really shameful and a challenge for all of us. We must vow to ensure this sort of discrimination, these atrocities are stopped immediately."
A 23-year-old woman from Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district was set afire by five men, including two of her alleged rapists, on Thursday morning when she was going to Rae Bareli to attend a court hearing. She succumbed to burn injuries on Friday night.
The incident came days after the gang-rape and murder of a young veterinary doctor in Hyderabad that sparked national outrage.
Addressing the 16th convocation of the Symbiosis International University here, the vice president said bringing new laws was not the solution.
"We brought a Bill on Nirbhaya. What happened? Was the problem solved? I am not against any bill or new law, but what I always feel is political will and administrative skills to kill the social evil are needed. Change in the mindset is the need of the hour and that we should go back to the roots and culture," he said.
He added that looking at such incidents from the prism of religion and politics would ensure that the "cause is lost".
The vice president said such incidents were giving the country a bad name, but cautioned against indulging in politics at the expense of the nation during such times.
"It is giving India a bad name. Some people are claiming India is becoming capital of so and so. I do not want to get into that... We should not denigrate our country and we should not get into politics in such matters of atrocities," he said.
Naidu said the need of the hour was for teachers to inculcate right values among students and show them the right path.
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Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Monday issued a nutrition advisory recommending healthier food and beverage options at meetings, functions, and other official gatherings held in the state.
The advisory has been issued by the Department of Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Services to promote healthy dietary and nutritional habits among officials and staff, noting that food, refreshments and beverages served in government offices and official programmes are "often not aligned with nutrition standards."
The advisory recommends serving snacks such as millet-based, low-fat and low-sugar foods, fresh fruits, vegetable salads, sprouts, roasted nuts and seeds during in-house office meetings and breaks.
Beverages such as green tea, low-fat buttermilk, and locally filtered or boiled water served in glass bottles or steel flasks have also been suggested.
According to the advisory, for larger government events, conferences and exhibitions, departments have been advised to include at least one millet-based item during snacks and a minimum of two millet dishes in meals, along with local cuisine and at least one regional recipe.
It also recommends the use of brown rice instead of white rice, freshly prepared vegetable salads, and fresh fruits or low-sugar fruit juices.
If non-vegetarian food is served, it should consist of well-cooked lean or white meat, the advisory stated.
In eateries operating within government office campuses, the department has recommended millet-based foods, fresh vegetable salads, boiled pulses such as horse gram or chickpeas, and low-fat beverages.
It suggests serving food using reusable metal plates and glasses.
The advisory also recommends avoiding microwave-heated food, industrially processed food, fried snacks, high-fat or heavily spiced dishes, carbonated drinks, high-sugar fruit juices, and alcoholic beverages.
It further discourages serving milk-based tea or coffee and plastic-bottled water during official events.
“Overall, hygiene and cleanliness should be maintained while serving food and water. Local cottage industries, self-help groups, prison kitchens, nutri-gardens and others should be preferred for placing food and beverage orders,” the advisory added.
