Mumbai, May 4 (IANS) Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) on Monday said while the Central government recently tested emergency sirens on millions of mobile phones across the nation to alert citizens of potential disasters, a different kind of alarm is ringing in Maharashtra — one that the government seems determined to ignore. As cases of brutal sexual assault and murder of minor girls rise, the “siren” of law and order remains silent.

The Thackeray camp in the party’s mouthpiece, ‘Saamana’, mentioned the horrific rape and murder of a four-year-old girl in Nasrapur, Bhor tehsil of Pune district, that sparked massive outrage.

Grieving citizens brought the child’s body onto the streets, demanding that the accused be handed over to them for immediate justice. Instead of providing solace or swift assurance, the police responded by baton-charging the mourning crowd. This incident is not isolated. Similar atrocities have been reported in Chakan, Sangli, and even Nagpur — the home turf of CM Fadnavis, said the editorial in Saamana.

The editorial highlighted what it said was a “stark contrast in the government’s priorities”. “Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the Home Portfolio, is being held directly responsible for the collapse of women’s safety. While he recently apologised to commuters for traffic jams during the inauguration of the ‘Missing Link’ road project, he has remained silent on the systemic failure to protect children,” it said.

The Thackeray camp has accused the Chief Minister and Home Minister of spending the last month campaigning in West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, and Tamil Nadu, claiming Maharashtra is flourishing while the state’s internal security crumbles. However, it claimed that while travelling to other states and making false claims about how well Maharashtra is doing, the reality in the state is the opposite: corruption is rampant, and atrocities against women are at their peak.

The editorial pointed out the BJP’s aggressive protests regarding the RG Kar Medical College incident in West Bengal, contrasting it with their demand to “not politicise” similar horrors occurring under their own watch in Maharashtra. “Despite promises of fast-track capital punishment, the public questions how many perpetrators have actually faced the gallows,” said the editorial.

“The fact that the ruling party expects people not to express their outrage when minor girls are assaulted simultaneously in Bhor and Chakan is cruel. The public is furious. In Nasrapur, there was a road blockade. The Chief Minister announces strict action and the death penalty for the accused, only to get busy with new political manoeuvres. Will this save girls’ lives? How many such accused have actually been executed so far?” asked the editorial.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena took a sharp jab at the government’s flagship Ladki Bahin Yojana, which provides a monthly aid of Rs 1,500 to women, asking, “Does providing Rs 1,500 give the government a license to overlook the safety of those women’s daughters?”

The Thackeray camp further claimed that if anyone is the “true accused” in these cases, it is the Fadnavis-led Home Department. “The machinery designed to protect the vulnerable has collapsed. This is not a matter of mere politics; it is a matter of basic humanity and the dignity of women. The state demands more than just traffic apologies; it demands a sincere apology to the mothers and daughters of Maharashtra for the failure to keep them safe,” it noted.

–IANS

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