NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar backs Maharashtra Bandh to stage protest against Badlapur incident

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 23 : NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday backed the Maharashtra Bandh called for staging a protest against the Badlapur incident and appealed to the people of Maharashtra to participate in it peacefully.
"The incident that happened in Badlapur is a serious issue. This incident is shocking; therefore, reactions are coming from various places," Pawar said.
Demanding strict action, he said "Strict action shall be taken, Home Department should remain alert. Incidents against girls and women are being noticed recently from other places in the state, people are angry about this."
"Therefore Maharashtra Bandh has been called for tomorrow. This bandh should be done peacefully. My party will participate in it. I am sure people of Maharashtra will participate in the bandh", the NCP leader said.
He further stated "I don't want to accuse anyone here but these types of incidents are serious. These are not stopping. We need to create awareness among people. We need to create awareness among law and order machinery too to stop such incidents".
He also urged the government to handle this situation sensitively.
"The government should handle this situation with sensitivity. This is not appropriate to book people who were protesting. They were expressing their anger over the incident peacefully. The home department should handle this with sensitivity" he added.
Earlier today, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackrey called for a Maharashtra bandh on Saturday. to stage a protest against the Badlapur incident. He further stated that the bandh is against the atrocities committed against women and there is no political motive behind it.
"Many people have started to feel that girls are not safe in schools. All citizens will take part in tomorrow's bandh, not just Mahavikas Aghadi. The bandh will continue till 2 pm. Bus and train services should also be shut during tomorrow's bandh. You may belong to any religion or caste, but make this bandh successful for the protection of your daughters and sisters," the former CM said.
Launching an attack against the Maharashtra government, he pointed out, "What is happening with the girls? All this is going on, what is the government doing? We are not against the Ladli Behan Yojana. We want the government to first focus on the safety of women. After this, talk about all these schemes. We will not take the law into our hands. Shopkeepers should also think that they also have daughters, so they should also join our bandh, tomorrow the bandh will be only till 2 o'clock. Some people have gone to court regarding the bandh, it seems they are not concerned about their sisters and family."
"If the police had properly taken action, we would not have to do this. Yesterday the court also reprimanded. People have the right to question the government. When the way is closed for the people, the court is the only way left," Uddhav added.
Earlier, in a post on X, Uddhav Thackeray wrote, "Maha Vikas Aghadi has announced Maharashtra Bandh on August 24 to protest against the Badlapur incident. This bandh is not political but to protest and curb the perversity."
Meanwhile, the special investigation team (SIT) for Badlapur sexual assault against minors has registered an FIR against the school authorities, for not complying with the provisions of section 19 of the POCSO Act which mandates that every authority when they come to know about any such kind of sexual assault against minors are obligated to report this to police authorities for further action, said SIT.