Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) workers, led by party MP Supriya Sule on Tuesday held a protest near the state secretariat in Mumbai over the “inordinate delay” in assent for the Shakti bill on crimes against women.
The protest came on a day President Droupadi Murmu was in Mumbai to address the centenary celebrations of Maharashtra Legislative Council.
The state assembly in December 2021 unanimously cleared the (Maharashtra Amendment) Bill, 2020, on crimes against women and children.
It provides for death penalty for rape and has increased minimum quantum of punishment in case of acid attacks on women and sexual assault of children. It also set a time limit of 30 days to complete probe from the day of registering of a complaint.
The delay in granting assent to this bill has raised concerns among the citizens of Maharashtra, especially considering the increasing cases of violence against women and children, Sule said.
Sule’s party workers held banners saying, “We want guarantees for women's safety, we want the Shakti bill”, while protesting near Mahatma Gandhi's statue outside the secretariat.
Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh also participated in the protest.
“When I was the home minister of Maharashtra, our government passed the Shakti bill under which rapists can be awarded the death penalty. But the bill is pending the Centre’s approval (Presidential assent) before it can become law,” Deshmukh said.
The demand for the presidential nod has gained momentum days after two minor girls were sexually abused in a school at Badlapur in Thane district, sparking massive outrage and protests.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi recently wrote to President Murmu for her speedy assent to the bills.
Published 03 September 2024, 14:02 IST