Amidst rising public anger over the sexual assault of two minor girls at a school in Badlapur, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra has called for a statewide bandh on August 24th. This decision was reached during a meeting of MVA allies in Mumbai, attended by leaders from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and NCP (SP) headed by Sharad Pawar.
Expressing their deep concern over the incident, Sanjay Raut, a leader of the Sena UBT and a Rajya Sabha MP, stated that the initial purpose of the meeting was to discuss seat sharing for upcoming elections. However, the gravity of the Badlapur situation led them to prioritize addressing the law and order concerns in the state.
Raut highlighted the public outrage and the registration of FIRs against individuals who protested against the incident. He emphasized that the MVA’s call for a Maharashtra Bandh on August 24th aims to bring attention to the issue and demand justice for the victims. The bandh is expected to involve a widespread shutdown of businesses and public services across the state.
