MUMBAI – The opposition parties on Thursday staged a protest in the Maharashtra Assembly premises against two Ministers — Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam and Minister Jaykumar Gore — and also demanded their resignation from their respective posts.
The opposition has accused Minister Kadam of making an “insensitive” statement in the assault case of a 26-year-old woman inside a bus at the Pune bus depot and has alleged that Gore was involved in harassing a woman.
The opposition leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the state council Ambadas Danve, demanded the resignation of Kadam and Gore while accusing the state government of protecting the two.
Opposition took strong objection to Kadam’s statement that “in the incident that took place in the Shivshahi bus, there was no resistance from the victim. Since there was no resistance, no one suspected this.”
Thereafter, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said Kadam’s statement was taken differently but added that “my advice to him is that we have to be more sensitive when speaking in such cases. If something goes wrong while speaking, it has a negative impact on the public mind.”
Kadam also subsequently clarified. As far as the BJP Minister Gore is concerned, the opposition claimed that he should resign or the chief minister should sack him from the cabinet for harassing a woman. Gore, on his part, clarified that the court had already given a judgment in 2019 and acquitted him. The court had ordered the destruction of the seized material and mobile phone.
He further said, “It has been six years since this court verdict. This case has come to light after six years. Political leaders should restrain on what to say at what time.”
Gore has announced that he would file defamation case and move privilege motion against those who are making allegations in this case despite his acquittal by the court.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut dared Gore to move a privilege motion. “Is he going to move the privilege motion against the woman who has filed a fresh complaint to the state Governor?” he asked.
He further said, “Even if the Minister says that he was jailed in this case, then how did Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis take him in the cabinet? Even after doing so much, now, after becoming a Minister, you are again harassing that woman who will be sitting on a hunger strike in front of the Vidhan Bhavan from March 17.”
Raut demanded that the CM should immediately take Gore’s resignation. “I have spoken to the woman who has said that she will commit suicide if she is not freed from such harassment,” said Raut. -IANS
