On Friday, Former CM of Maharashtra and the leader of Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray demanded Eknath Shinde’s government to remove cases registered to those who protested against the alleged sexual assault of two girls in Badlapur. Thackeray underlined the fact that if the government does not respond to the calls, the opposition will be pushed to stage a protest on the roads.
To counter this, Thackeray announced that the ‘Maharashtra Bandh’ on Saturday should not be seen from a political perspective but as a protest against “perversion. ” He encouraged people from all castes and all religions to support the shutdown, implying that it is the Maharashtra citizens’ protest. The bandh is called in view of the anger generated by the alleged rape of two little girls at a school in Badlapur. The child later pointed out a school attendant who was arrested on August 17 and suspected to have abused her.
In his statement, Thackeray targeted the Shinde government for going soft on the protests and pointed out that people are still being arrested in Badlapur. In particular, individuals who protested were promised case withdrawals, failure to which may lead to more civil unrest. The protests againsr the bill led to stone-pelting at the railway station and other parts of Badlapur and at least 25 of the police forces were injured. Hitherto, 72 people have been arrested over the violence that was associated with the protest.
The slogan of Uddhav Thackeray reinforces protesters’ anger and puts pressure on the government, as well as the negative attitude towards the case.
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