New Delhi, Jul 25 (IANS): Equating cheating of home buyers by greedy builders with rape, BJP leader Vijay Goel on Thursday demanded stringent action against them.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during Zero Hour, he also sought action against celebrities endorsing housing projects of such builders.

Goel said that lakhs of home buyers had invested their hard-earned money in booking flats. But the greedy builders had cheated them.

"The builders have cheated and defrauded these home buyers... These greedy builders should get capital punishment because the crime they have committed is no less than rape," said Goel, who formerly headed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi.

He said that some celebrities have been associated with these builders.

"As there is penal provision for celebrities endorsing a product in case the product turns out to be inferior, the brand ambassadors of builders should also be punished," Goel said.