Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit is unhappy with Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani's response to concerns about the safety of women in the national capital. Advani heads the home ministry, which controls the police in Delhi.

Concerned over the law and order situation in the wake of the rape of a Swiss diplomat, Dikshit on Friday led a women's delegation to President A P J Abdul Kalam and Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani seeking "strong legal measures" and "effective policing."

During a 20-minute meeting, Dikshit told Advani that women in Delhi were "feeling scared and disgusted with the spiralling incidents of rape in the past couple of months. What is shocking is that one can discern a callousness in the police force that has not been able to ensure that such incidents do not happen or recur."

Sharing Dikshit's concern, Advani said incidents like the rape of the Swiss diplomat were "deplorable" and affected the country's image. He had earlier advocated capital punishment for rapists but women's organisations had opposed it. "Punishment should be more stringent for acts like this," he said.

Dikshit was dissatisfied with Advani's response. "He did not offer to take immediate steps to reassure Delhi residents. We did not receive the kind of assurance we had expected," she said.

She blamed multiplicity of authority in Delhi for the present scenario and suggested that fast track courts deal with rape cases. She recommended amendments to the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code to ensure only life imprisonment is awarded in such heinous crime.

Earlier, the chief minister conveyed to President A P J Abdul Kalam her "deep anguish" over the increasing incidence of rapes in the capital in the past few months and sought his intervention in the matter.