Jaya Bachchan, an Indian MP and former Bollywood actress has said the men who raped and murdered a 27-year-old vet in the city of Hyderabad should be “lynched”.
“I know it sounds harsh, but these kind of people should be brought out in public and lynched,” Bachchan said in parliament.
Several other MPs from across the political spectrum also condemned the brutal gang-rape and murder.
Protests were held across India after the victim’s charred remains were found following her disappearance last week.
Police say they have arrested the four men who gang-raped and murdered the woman.
Rape and violence against women remain at high levels despite widespread public anger at high-profile cases.
On Monday, the anger on the streets was reflected in parliament with many MPs demanding to know what action the government planned to take to make the country safer for women.
Ms Bachchan, who is very vocal on women’s rights issues, led the MPs in demanding justice for the victim.
“I think it is time… The people want the government to give a proper and definite answer,” she said.
Vijila Sathyananth, an MP from the southern state of Tamil Nadu, said the country was not safe for children and women and demanded that the “four men who committed this crime should be hanged before December 31. Justice delayed is justice denied”.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, “This act has brought shame to the entire country, it has hurt everyone” and that he didn’t have appropriate words to “condemn this heinous crime”.
He said tougher laws that were introduced after the December 2012 gang-rape and murder of a young woman in Delhi had given hope that crimes against women would decline.
But since that had not happened, Mr Singh said, “The government is ready for a discussion in the parliament on the issue of crimes against women and willing to explore stringent provisions in laws to check such incidents”.
Rape and sexual violence against women have been in focus in India over the past few years but there has been no sign that anti-female violence is abating.
According to the latest government crime figures, 33,658 women were raped in India in 2017 – an average of 92 every day. (Source: BBC)