Union Minister Khadse's daughter, friends harassed in Jalgaon; seven named in FIR, one held
Jalgaon, Mar 2 (PTI): Union Minister Raksha Khadse on Sunday lodged a police complaint regarding the harassment of her daughter and some of her friends by a group of men at an event in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district, following which one person was arrested.
The FIR was registered on the complaint of Khadse at Muktainagar police station in connection with an incident that occurred at Sant Muktai Yatra in Kothali village on Friday night.
Seven persons have been named in the FIR, of which one, identified as Soham Mali, has been arrested, a Muktainagar police station official said in the evening. He added that teams have been formed the nab the other accused.
The seven have been charged with stalking and other offences under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, while Information Technology Act provisions have been invoked since they tried to take pictures and videos of the girls without permission, the official informed.
The bodyguards accompanying the girls named the seven persons, the police official added.
Talking to reporters earlier in the day, the Union minister and BJP leader said, "I was in Gujarat, so my daughter called me to ask for permission to go. I asked her to take a guard and two to three staff members along. My daughter and her friends were followed and pushed, and their photos and videos were taken. When my staff objected, the boys resorted to unruly behaviour, and a mob of 30 to 40 people gathered."
Khadse said when she returned home this morning, her daughter told her that the same group had misbehaved with her on February 24 at a public event.
"It is unfortunate. If such things happen to an MP or Union minister's daughter, imagine what common people have to go through," she said.
Khadse said some locals in Muktainagar told her that this group harassed girls on their way to school.
"I have spoken to the chief minister and the deputy superintendent of police," she said, demanding that the culprits be arrested.
Speaking to reporters in Raigad, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, "Those who harassed Khadse's daughter are from a political party. The local police have arrested some of them and registered a case. There will be strict action taken against them."
He added that whichever party the accused may belong, "no leader has said not to take action against them".
When asked about his remarks that the accused belonged to a particular political party, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said ," which ever party they may belong, no leader had said not to take action against them."
Raksha Khadse's father-in-law, former minister and NCP (SP) leader Eknath Khadse said, "The police have already received several complaints against these youths in the past, but no effective steps were taken. These boys are hardened criminals."
He claimed that crimes against women have increased in Maharashtra, and criminals are not afraid of the police.
"Girls do not come forward to lodge complaints. Parents believe that the names of their daughters should not be disclosed. We complained as we had no option left," he said.
"I have spoken to the DSP and IG. When we went to the police station first, we were made to sit for two hours. The police told us to rethink the issue as it relates to girls. The youths have beaten up the police also. These people have political protection," the NCP (SP) leader said.
Reacting to the development, Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal claimed the law and order situation in the state has collapsed under the Mahayuti government.
"The incident of Union Minister Khadse's daughter being molested by thugs and security guards being pushed is extremely worrying and shows that women and girls are not safe in the state," he said.
He claimed that Khadse was sitting in the police station because persons who molested her daughter and other girls were not being arrested.
Sapkal said, "There has been an increase in atrocities against women and girls in the state. If the daughter of a Union minister is unsafe, it is better not to think about girls of common citizens," he said.
He said CM Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, has lost focus.
"The fact that a minister's daughter was molested even in the presence of security guards is a sign that the law and order has gone haywire. Fadnavis should resign from the post of home minister and give the state a full-time competent home minister for the safety of mothers and sisters in the state," the Congress leader said.
Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Vijay Wadettiwar said the news of Khadse's daughter being molested while under police protection reflects the reality prevalent in Maharashtra.
"The minister had to go directly to the police station to demand that the accused be arrested. We have been saying for a long time that the police are no longer feared in the state because gangsters get protection from the ruling Mahayuti," he claimed.
The Mahayuti government has been shown a mirror by its Central minister, Wadettiwar said, questioning if the incident will awaken the chief minister and the two deputy chief ministers.
Maharashtra Women's Commission chairperson Rupali Chakankar said the panel will follow up on the case and ensure the culprits are punished.
Chakankar told reporters she had discussed the case with police officials.
Meanwhile, NCP (SP) women's wing president Rohini Khadse, who is the sister in law of Raksha Khadse, claimed the accused belonged to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, which is part of the ruling alliance.
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Post poll TN alliances divided in supporting TVK
Chennai (PTI): In a changed political atmosphere in Tamil Nadu with no single political party having a simple majority to form the government post the Assembly election, opinion is divided among the allies led by the Dravidian majors in extending external support to Vijay-led TVK in government formation.
Both the DMK and AIADMK are at unease as the Congress and also a section in the AIADMK express willingness to extend external support to Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagtam in forming the government.
Post poll, the TVK's political prospects appear to impact alliances led by both the Dravidian majors in a different manner, triggering a speculation of a split.
Leema Rose Martin, who won from Lalgudi on an AIADMK ticket, has stated that talks were underway on extending support to the TVK. Her son-in-law Aadhav Arjuna, who won from Villivakkam is TVK's general secretary.
On May 5, former AIADMK minister O S Manian, emerging from his meeting with party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, stated that AIADMK would not support TVK in forming the government.
The AIADMK, which finished third in the elections with 47 seats has cancelled its meeting of MLAs designate on Wednesday amidst a difference in extending external support to the TVK, which won 108 seats, including two seats by its founder Vijay.
As Vijay is gearing up for his swearing-in on May 7, the police have tightened security at his residence here. The party has lodged its MLA-elect at a resort in Mamallapuram and has simultaneously engaged in talks with the Congress and AIADMK, a source said.
The DMK that won 59 seats on its own, has convened a meeting of its newly elected legislators on May 7 evening and the party is likely to elect the youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin, who won from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni as its legislature party leader.
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal admitted that TVK chief Vijay requested the Congress for support to form the government.
"The INC is clear that the mandate in Tamil Nadu is for a secular government, committed to protecting the Constitution in letter and spirit. The INC is determined not to allow the BJP and its proxies to run the government of Tamil Nadu in any manner. Thiru Vijay has also spoken about drawing inspiration from Perunthalaivar Kamaraj," he said.
Accordingly, the Congress leadership has directed the TNCC to take a final decision on Vijay’s request, keeping in view the sentiments of the state as reflected in the electoral verdict, Venugopal said in a statement.
DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai slammed the Congress decision and said the move to ally with TVK, pledging the support of its five MLAs to the party, was tantamount to "backstabbing the DMK and the people of Tamil Nadu."
"They have betrayed the mandate given by the people. Even before the ink on the returning officer’s signature on the victory certificate has dried, they have chosen to go ahead with this alliance," he told PTI.
The most important question was who took this "foolhardy decision, and how is it going to backfire on the Congress?" he asked.
"I don’t think they had any serious deliberation on this. The larger issue is their opposition to the BJP, which is their ideological enemy. We have supported the Congress throughout. It was our leader M K Stalin, who named Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate when the BJP and RSS were criticising him. And now, within a day, they say they are supporting TVK. This is not the mandate of the people of Tamil Nadu,” Saravanan said.
The Congress' exit from its long-standing alliance with the DMK will be a significant moment in the political scenario of the state, commentator and political analyst Sumanth Raman said.
The Congress may be betting on the TVK as a long-term partner option, but that comes with risks, as the TVK is as yet an unknown quantity, he said.
"For the DMK, if the TVK+Congress becomes the choice of the minorities as it well could, it is an existential threat. It was the minority vote that gave the DMK alliance a 12%-15% cushion in the polls. If that goes, their chances of winning drops dramatically," Raman said on 'X.'
The Congress won 5 seats. However, DMK's other allies, the IUML, VCK, CPI and CPI (M) and DMDK have categorically stated that they would not support TVK.
As of now, the TVK requires the support of 11 MLAs to attain a simple majority of 118 to form the government.
The PMK, which won 4 seats and AMMK one - both allies of AIADMK - have not announced their decision yet.
"AIADMK’s real post-result drama may not be outside the party, but inside it. Whispers from the west and north suggest that a Coimbatore hand and a Villupuram voice may soon ask the question everyone is avoiding: Is it time to save the party from the leadership, before the cadre are forced to do it themselves? In politics, coups don’t begin with slogans. They begin with silence, phone calls and “review meetings,” Aspire Swaminathan, who is credited with founding the AIADMK IT wing in 2014, said on 'X.'
He has resigned from the AIADMK in 2021 and now acts an as independent political analyst.
