Politicians want harsh punishment for culprits

Political parties across Maharashtra on Saturday condoled the death of the 23-year-old woman who was gang-raped a fortnight ago.

Political parties across Maharashtra on Saturday condoled the death of the 23-year-old woman who was gang-raped a fortnight ago.

While most leaders, including chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, asked the government to ensure that the culprits are severely penalised, many others felt that the government needed to pull up its socks with respect to law and order.

Chavan, who has decided to dedicate 25 fast-track courts, out of the 100, for women-related cases early this week, will also pursue the amendment of laws at the Centre. The state has sent a proposal to the Centre asking for rape to be made a non-bailable offence.

“Sentencing the guilty at the earliest, and amending relevant laws will be a real tribute to the woman. It is unfortunate that crime against women has increased manifold despite us being educated. I’m going to pursue the matter with the Centre relentlessly,” Chavan said in a statement issued on Saturday.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule felt that there was a need to ensure that the woman’s death was not in vain. “It is high time that we take up the issue of women’s and young girls’ safety at public and private places and even at home. We should check our actions and study past decisions,” Sule added.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinod Tawde lashed out against both the government and societal instincts for the incident. “If even 25% of the police force that is on the streets of Delhi today is present on a daily basis, such incidences can be avoided. However, I would also blame the social system for this. We must practise gender equality at home, to begin with” said Tawade.