CM Thackeray gives it back to Guv, suggests Parliament session on rising crimes against women in the country

@the_news_21

Mumbai: Not known for taking things lying down, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray gave it back in full measure to Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at the first opportunity. In a sarcasm laced response on September 20 to the Governor’s earlier letter recommending the state government to call for a two-day special session of the state legislature to discuss rising crimes against women in the state, Thackeray instead recommended to Governor Koshyari that he recommend it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for convening a four-day special session of the Parliament to give vent to what he called as a national issue.

The Chief Minister said this while referring to the recent brutal rape and murder of a woman in Sakinaka area of north-west Mumbai. Thackeray sarcastically remarked that the concern that you as the Governor have expressed over rising crimes against women in respect to the Sakinaka incident, the same concern is felt by the government.

Thackeray added that the issue is not limited to just the Sakinaka incident alone, but has wider national ramifications. “All the affected women from all over the country are looking towards you (Governor) with great expectation. Hence, in order to give vent to the atrocities against the women in the country, the Governor should make a demand to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for convening a four-day special session of the Parliament to discuss the issue.

Acknowledging the receipt of the Governors letter, the Chief Minister remarked that the overall tone and tenor of the letter is borne out of the concern for safety of women in the state, and seems to be based on the representations made by political womens delegations.

Stating that he could sympathise with the feelings of the Governor, Thackeray stated that while occupying the gubernatorial post, your (Governors) orientation has been that of a political worker. He further sought to remind the Governor that he (Governor) had gone through the grind and was well aware of the fact that the issue of law and order, womens safety and their protection is the responsibility of the government headed by the Chief Minister. Further, in a tongue-in-cheek remark, Thackeray added that the government has always immensely benefited from the Governor’s vast political experience.

Thackeray stated that in the Sakinaka incident the police reached the scene of the crime in just 10 minutes and the accused was arrested. He quickly called for the meeting of all the senior police officers and resolved to fast track the case, strict action against the accused and speedy justice to the victim. The Chief Minister further stated that the process of setting up Nirbhaya Squads in every police station in Mumbai is being speeded up.

Arguing that the government was taking all necessary steps and, in such times to make a suggestion to the government to convene a special session of the state legislature amounts to giving rise to a new controversy. To echo sentiments of the opponents of the government who are demanding the special session, amounts to damaging parliamentary democracy.

Stating that he was well aware of the fact that crimes against women are a blot on the state, nation and the society at large, Thackeray stated that the issue of crimes against women is a national issue and hence should be debated at the national level. In recent past, crimes against women in national capital New Delhi have increased alarmingly, world over the image of Delhi has been tarnished as being the rape capital of the world. The law and order issue in Delhi is the responsibility of the Center, he added with emphasis.

Thackeray in his letter further drew the attention of the Governor to the rape and murder of a nine year old dalit girl at a crematorium in Delhi in which the accused was a priest and two of his accomplices who hastily tried to cremate the deceased. All this in a city where the country’s entire cabinet sits, he added.

Besides these, the Chief Minister in his letter has also referred to the incident in Bihar in which a case was registered against a MP following the court direction in the case of a woman worker of a political party who was the victim of his sexual assault. He said that in the case of Maharashtra, the government has acted swiftly.

In Uttar Pradesh where the grand temple of Lord Ram is coming up, there a woman Kho-kho player was raped and murdered and her badly mutilated body was found at Bijnor railway station. Thackeray also referred to the Unnao, Budaun rape case, NCRBs findings of rising crimes against women in Uttar Pradesh. The Chief Minister further sarcastically remarked that so far no one has heard the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) there demanding a special session of the state UP state legislature.

Referring to the atrocities on Kashmiri Pandit women folk, he said that atrocities against them would even shame the Taliban. Thackeray added that the BJP when it was sharing power in Jammu and Kashmir, never called for a special session to discuss the issue.

In a bid to further ram it in, Thackeray, reminding the Governor that he was the native of Uttarakhand which is also called as “Devbhoomi”, stated that the crimes against women have risen by 150 percent. Incidents of dowry deaths, abduction, rape and murder of women have been reported in Haridwar and Dehradun. In an oblique remark, the Chief Minister added that should the special session of the state legislature be convened here also?

Likening the state of Gujarat to an emotional bond between two twins, the Chief Minister argued that as per Gujarat police own report on a daily basis 14 rape cases are reported, 2,908 women went missing from Ahmedabad, while 14,229 women went missing from Gujarat in the last two years. Since 2015, serious crimes against women in Gujarat have reached its pinnacle point.

He said that the figures and incidents of crimes against women in Mehsana, Rajkot, Vadodara, Ahmedabad rural, Chhota Udaipur, Surat rural, Jamnagar and Patan. Thackeray further argued that statistics reveal that daily three rape cases are reported in Gujarat. Taking all this into account a month-long special session of the Gujarat legislative assembly will have to be convened, remarked Thackeray.

Thackeray further stated that Maharashtra is Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj state and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in his Hindavi Swarajya gave top priority to women’s safety, which need not be reiterated again. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj gave due respect to not just women in his rule but also to women folk from the enemy camp. He added that the current government in Maharashtra is carrying forward the same tradition. As an elder and as a Governor, our expectations are that we continue to receive your kind blessings, Thackeray added in the end.