In the backdrop of the horrific gangrape in the heart of the island city, MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Friday condemned the incident and asked all the women to present their bangles to home minister R.R. Patil. He also demanded the home minister’s resignation over the incident.
Mr Thackeray said that the home minister had proved to be a complete failure when it came to handling such an important portfolio. “Women should come forward and present a garland of bangles to the home minister,” Mr Thackeray said.
“The state home department is in a mess and Mr Patil has proved to be incompetent as a home minister. The law and order situation of the state has deteriorated in his tenure,” added Mr Thackeray.
He further criticised the home minister by saying that Mr Patil behaves like a courier service to Sharad Pawar, the NCP chief. “He (Mr Patil) has been given the post only to feed information to Pawar, who is sitting in New Delhi,” the MNS chief alleged.
Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council, Vinod Tawde, also lambasted Mr Patil and said that he is a “talking parrot”. Demandi-ng Mr Patil’s resignation, the BJP leader said, “The home minister must tender his resignation. Even if he is the blue-eyed boy of Mr Pawar, he has no control left over the home department.”
Meanwhile, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan tried to defend the home minister. He said it was not proper for the Opposition parties to demand Mr Patil’s resignation. “Instead the state government’s priority will be to nab the accused and bring them to justice,” the chief minister said. He also announced that the government would bear all the medical expenditure of the victim.