Amid protests against sexual harassment of minors in Badlapur, Sharad Pawar calls for a Bengali anti-rape law in Maharashtra

Kolhapur, Sept 4 (PTI) – NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar on Wednesday pushed for implementation in Maharashtra of the Bill passed by the West Bengal Assembly providing for death penalty for rape victims.

Pawar also attacked Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for his alleged statement that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj never looted Surat and said no one should tell a false story to the people.

The West Bengal Parliament on Tuesday unanimously passed the Aparajita Woman and Child Bill (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) Bill, 2024, the state's anti-rape law that provides for the death penalty for rapists if their acts result in the death of the victim or leave her in a vegetative state. The bill was passed nearly a month after the alleged rape and murder of a junior doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

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“Maharashtra should consider adopting the bill passed by the West Bengal Assembly. My party supports such a bill… Currently, there will be no session of Parliament in Maharashtra as assembly elections are due soon. We will highlight this point in our election campaign and also mention it in the election manifesto,” Pawar said.

Former state home minister and NCP(SP) leader Anil Deshmukh is demanding implementation of the Shakti Criminal Laws (Maharashtra Amendment) Bill, 2020, which was passed in Parliament during the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) regime and is now awaiting presidential assent.

The Shakti Act provides strict punishments for crimes against women and children.

Responding to a question about Fadnavis' remarks about Shivaji Maharaj, he said the issue was whether the Maratha warrior king had sacked Surat or not.

“However, Fadnavis made another statement in which he stated that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj did not commit the act of looting (Surat). The deputy chief minister also alleged that the Congress had spread false stories about Shivaji Maharaj,” the veteran politician said.

“Historians have the right to present facts after years of research. Yesterday, (noted historian and author) Jaisinghrao Pawar said that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had undertaken a mission to Surat not once but twice. The intention of riding to Surat was different and was explained by Jaisinghrao Pawar. Another historian, Indrajit Sawant, also echoed his opinion,” he said.

“This means that no one should present a false story to the people and the young generation,” said the chairman of the NCP (SP).

Commenting on the recent collapse of the statue of Shivaji Maharaj in Sindhudurg district, Pawar said the sculptor entrusted with creating the structure had limited experience in the field.

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“He had never undertaken such a huge work before and yet it was entrusted to him. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde attributed the incident to strong winds. But a statue of Shivaji Maharaj was installed at the Gateway of India in Mumbai sixty years ago by the state's first chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan and that statue still stands firmly,” he said, adding that the reasons given for the incident were not convincing.

“Prima facie, those entrusted with the construction of the statue had no experience. It was not appropriate to entrust them with such a huge work and after this incident, people who believe in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj are restless,” Pawar said.

Responding to questions, he said there was no need for Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to announce the new Prime Minister.

“The decision can be made based on the numbers after the survey result,” he said.

The former Union minister said he wanted the MVA to complete the seat allocation process and start campaigning as soon as possible.

“The MVA leadership should meet for talks from September 7 to 9,” he said.

He said he expected the electoral process to be completed by the second week of November.

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Pawar said the MVA should also include the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP), the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M).

“These parties have some influential areas in the state and they helped the MVA in the Lok Sabha elections,” he said.

There was no need for the Shaktipeeth Expressway to connect Nagpur with Goa.

“Instead, existing roads and highways should be expanded,” he said.

(This story was published as part of an auto-generated syndicated wirefeed. Aside from the headline, no changes were made to the text written by ABP Live.)