Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has announced that his ruling party will withdraw a controversial motion on the sexual abuse of minors.

“These issues will be discussed at a [parliamentary] commission; if a proposal comes from them [the opposition], it will be developed. If not, we will fix the issue by taking the suggestions of NGOs, citizens, experts and academics. The place where problems get fixed is politics” Yıldırım said on Tuesday, adding that their decision to take the motion back to the commission was also partially due to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s call to secure a consensus on the controversial issue.

Speaking the previous day about the motion for the first time, Erdoğan suggested the problem should be “solved with a wide consensus” urging the government to heed criticisms and suggestions from the entire spectrum of society.

The bill provoked fury in the country as it would have resulted in pardons for some men who assaulted underage girls if they marry their victims.

The motion stipulated a postponement of the announcement of verdicts for cases of sexual assault committed before Nov. 16 in the event that the victim and the perpetrator had married each other, as well as suspended sentences in cases in which the verdict had been announced.

The bill, which is part of a 49-article draft amending the code of criminal procedure, was issued in parliament in a night session on Nov. 17 and received a majority of votes from the lawmakers present at the session.