Badlapur case: No Maharashtra bandh today, top MVA leaders take to streets

Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said it is a pity that instead of taking action against culprits involved in crimes against women, the Maharashtra government, which he termed “shameless”, was standing with them.

Addressing party workers during a demonstration over crimes against women, and the alleged sexual assault on two kindergarten girls at Badlapur, Thackeray said it is imperative to dislodge the Mahayuti government to ensure the safety of women in the state.

“It is a pity that instead of taking action against the culprits it is standing with them,” Thackeray alleged. He said Maharashtra has never seen a government as “shameless” as the incumbent dispensation.

Mahayuti is a coalition of BJP, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and NCP headed by Ajit Pawar.

In a veiled attack on CM Shinde, Thackeray said the ‘Kansa Mama', a reference to a character in Mahabharat, is busy getting rakhis tied on his wrists and asked when he will get justice for the nieces.

Thackeray, his wife Rashmi and their son and former Maharashtra minister Aaditya staged a demonstration at Shiv Sena Bhavan in the Dadar area along with party workers by wearing black ribbons and black bands on the mouth to protest against the Badlapur incident.

The party also staged protests in several parts of the state.

A male attendant has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two 4-year-old kindergarten girls at a school in Badlapur town of Thane district recently. The alleged crime had sparked a massive protest in Badlapur on Tuesday.

The Bombay high court on Friday restrained political parties from going ahead with the bandh called by the opposition grouping Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on August 24 to protest against the Badlapur incident.

Thackeray asked his party workers to run a signature campaign with the slogan ‘Bahin Surakshit tar Ghar Surakshit' (home is safe if sisters are secure) which will be then presented to the Bombay High Court.

“The court stopped our bandh, but cannot suppress our voice,” Thackeray said.

He said the government made its “cronies” approach the court to stop the bandh called by MVA. Thackeray said when all doors are shut, people have no option but to hit the streets.

Thackeray also demanded that the Shakti bill passed by the Maharashtra legislature, which is pending with the Centre, be given Presidential assent so that it can be implemented in the state.

Both the House of Maharashtra legislature had passed the Shakti Criminal Laws (Maharashtra Amendment) Bill, 2020, and the Special Court & Machinery for Implementation of Maharashtra Shakti Criminal Law, 2020, three years ago when the MVA was in power with Thackeray as the CM.

The Shakti bill proposes the death penalty for heinous offences of rape and gang rape.

Speaking in Pune, Nationalist Congress Party-SP chief Sharad Pawar said the Badlapur incident involving the alleged sexual abuse of two kindergarten girls at a school has hit the image of Maharashtra in the country.

He accused the state government of forgetting that the responsibility for the safety of women lies with it.

Pawar, who took part in a silent protest in Pune, said the government is insensitive if it thinks the opposition is playing politics over the Badlapur incident.

"The Badlapur incident has hit the image of Maharashtra in the country,” said the chief of NCP-SP, which is a constituent of the opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), also comprising Congress and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena-UBT.

Pawar said such an incident has taken place in the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji who used to chop off the hands of culprits involved in crimes against women.

The alleged sexual assault on two 4-year-old girls by a male attendant at a school in Badlapur of Thane district had led to a massive protest in the town on Tuesday, with thousands of people blocking roads and railway tracks and clashing with the police.