Uddhav demands full-time home minister for state

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday demanded a full-time home minister for the state and also suggested that a special assembly session should be

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday demanded a full-time home minister for the state and also suggested that a special assembly session should be called to debate the Atrocities act.

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Thackeray stressed that he did not doubt the capability of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the home ministry portfolio.

“The chief minister is competent but owing to work pressure, he is not able to give adequate attention to the home department. We need a capable person who can take care of the police department,” he added. The Sena has been critical of Fadnavis saying that the law and order department needed a full time minister.

With regards to the change in the atrocities act demanded by both NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray, Uddhav demanded a special session to debate this act.

“The act should not be the cause of tension between different communities. Today, the Maratha community is angry and the government should ensure that the tensions do not escalate,” he added. He took potshots at Pawar saying the Marathas are very well aware of Pawar’s intentions. In the unfortunate rape incident, in Ahmednagar, the girl belonged to the dominant Maratha community while the accused were allegedly Dalits.

The villagers prevented Dalit leaders like Ramdas Athawale and Prakash Ambedkar from visiting the village, though both condemned the incident in strongest terms.

The Scheduled Caste and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were framed by the Union Government in 1989 to prevent atrocities against the members of the SC and ST and help to bring them in the mainstream. However the act has not been very successful deterrent to prevent crimes against the Dalits.