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The political landscape of Maharashtra has been thrown into turmoil following a recent incident of sexual assault in Badlapur, leading to a call for a state-wide bandh by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance. However, the Bombay High Court intervened and restrained the bandh, a move that has been met with accusations of political maneuvering by the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut. Raut, known for his vocal criticisms of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, alleged that the state government orchestrated the court intervention to derail the MVA's protest.
Raut asserted that the bandh was going to be overwhelmingly successful and would have been a negative development for the Mahayuti government, implying that the BJP-led government feared the potential public outcry and sought to suppress it. He pointed the finger at Gunaratna Sadavarte, an activist and lawyer, who filed a petition in the court against the bandh, labeling Sadavarte as a 'favorite petitioner' of the government. Raut's statement suggests that the government used Sadavarte as a proxy to achieve its aim of stopping the protest, painting a picture of political manipulation.
The MVA, despite respecting the court's order, vowed to proceed with peaceful demonstrations across the state. This suggests that the alliance is not backing down from its mission to raise awareness about the issue of sexual assault and hold the government accountable. The incident in Badlapur, involving the alleged sexual abuse of two four-year-old girls by a school attendant, had sparked widespread outrage, prompting the MVA to call for the bandh as a means of expressing public discontent and demanding stricter actions against perpetrators. Raut's accusations have further heightened the political tensions in Maharashtra, with the MVA now facing the challenge of navigating the legal restrictions while continuing its pursuit of justice for the victims and holding the government accountable for its perceived inaction.
Source: Badlapur sexual assault: Sanjay Raut accuses Maharashtra govt. of attempting to derail MVA bandh