Badlapur sexual assault: MVA calls for Maharashtra Bandh on August 24

Mumbai: Amid widespread anger and agitation across the state against the sexual abuse of two four-year-old girls at a Badlapur school, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Wednesday called for a Maharashtra Bandh on August 24 to protest against the incident and rising cases of crimes against women.
As the MVA cornered the state government over the incident, chief minister Eknath Shinde alleged that the protests in Badlapur on Tuesday were politically motivated, saying the opposition couldn’t digest the success of the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana. The recently introduced populist scheme provides monthly aid of ₹1,500 to underprivileged women across the state. Some of the protesters at Badlapur railway station on Tuesday had held placards slamming the scheme, saying that instead of doling out ₹1,500 a month to women, the government should ensure they’re safe.
MVA leaders had scheduled a meeting on Wednesday to discuss seat sharing for the upcoming assembly elections. However, they decided to put it on hold and instead discuss the Badlapur incident and crimes against women in the state. That’s when the opposition alliance decided to call for a statewide bandh.
“In today’s meeting, we decided that MVA will call for a Maharashtra Bandh on August 24. All three [alliance] parties and other parties will participate in the bandh,” said state Congress president Nana Patole. Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) state president Jayant Patil said the MVA was not politicising the incident but rather raising its voice against rising crimes against women and children.
The opposition parties held protests in several cities across the state on Wednesday, including Mumbai, Thane, Pune, and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule participated in the Pune protest, where she criticised the Mahayuti government over the safety of women and girls in the state. She also asked the Maharashtra government to withdraw her police security and use it to maintain law and order.
“We heard that lots of police officers are busy providing security to political leaders, and there aren’t enough personnel to deploy for maintaining law and order. I request the government to withdraw my security and use that police force for law and order.”
In Mumbai, both Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) staged protests against the Mahayuti government. Mumbai Congress president and MP Varsha Gaikwad, leader of opposition in the state assembly Vijay Wadettiwar, and party workers held an agitation outside Mantralaya, shouting slogans against the Mahayuti government for the alleged delay in registering an FIR in the Badlapur case. The police stopped the protesters from entering the state secretariat and also detained some Congress workers. “[The protest was] not for politics but for demanding justice for those girls,” said Gaikwad.
In a post on X on Wednesday evening, Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, said all governments and parties need to brainstorm on what steps should be taken to provide a safe environment for women.
“After West Bengal, UP, Bihar, the shameful crimes against daughters in Maharashtra also force us to think where are we heading as a society? After the crime against two innocent people in Badlapur, the first step to give them justice was not taken until the public came out on the streets demanding justice. Will we now have to protest to even register an FIR? Why has it become so difficult for victims to even go to the police station? More efforts are made to hide crime than to provide justice, the biggest victims of which are women and people from weaker sections of society,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, chief minister Shinde slammed the opposition for politicising the incident. “The Badlapur protests on Tuesday were politically motivated as the opposition can’t digest the success of the Ladki Bahin scheme. They should be ashamed of politicising the sexual abuse of two minor girls. The state government has taken measures to speed up justice. The culprits will not be spared,” he said.
Shinde’s cabinet colleague and Thane guardian minister Shambhuraj Desai also alleged that the protesters in Badlapur were not locals and had been sent from other places.
Ambadas Danve, leader of the opposition in the Maharashtra legislative council, rejected Shinde’s claim, saying the outrage was a spontaneous reflection of people’s anger. “The people of Badlapur and Maharashtra are watching everything, and they will give a befitting reply to CM Shinde in the assembly elections,” he said.
Danve also met Maharashtra director general of police Rashmi Shukla and demanded action against the management of the school where the sexual assault took place, alleging that it had deleted CCTV footage.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, who had campaigned for the Mahayuti ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, also slammed the state government over the Badlapur incident.
“MNS workers were the first to raise their voices against the Badlapur incident. That’s when residents of Badlapur came to know about it, which led to a public outburst. The state government is busy branding itself with the Ladki Bahin scheme by giving ₹1,500 from taxpayers’ money. But the security of the ladki bahin (beloved sister) is more important,” Thackeray said.