Prithviraj Chavan, will you please act?:Susie Shah, a former member of the commission

The brutal gang rape of a woman photojournalist at the Shakti Mills compound is still fresh in our minds. More recently, another girl was gang-raped in Dindoshi. Last year, 16,353 cognisable offences against women were registered in the state and indications are that the number will be more this year. Maharashtra has the dubious distinction of being sixth in the national list for crimes against women. Going by these statistics, one would have thought chief minister Prithviraj Chavan would immediately appoint a chairperson for the Maharashtra State Women’s Commission.

Though crimes against women rising by the day, the state women’s panel is headless for the past five years. Prithviraj Chavan, who took over from Ashok Chavan three years ago, has not been able to select a woman to head the panel all these years.

Susie Shah, a former member of the commission, said that the post has been vacant for five years and no decision has been taken yet to fill the post.

There is no reason why it should take so long to handpick a woman to head the commission. It is no one’s contention that the filling up of the post will bring down the number of crimes against women. The commission has no powers to prosecute. Nevertheless, it used to provide a forum for aggrieved women to file complaints, including those against policemen who do not record them. The commission’s interventions were taken seriously by the police. But for some strange reason, the CM has not been able to take a decision. Several activists of his own party, including member of the National Women’s Commission Nirmala Samant-Prabhavalkar, have urged him repeatedly to fill up the post.

“I went to greet him during Diwali and raised the issue. The CM only smiled and assured me that he would take a decision. His reaction was the same when I raised the issue three years ago,” a Congress MLA told dna on Thursday.

“The whole situation is extremely exasperating. Here is a decision which involves no budgetary provision or anything like that. The CM has to simply issue a letter,” the legislator added.

In the past, the CM had stated that the decision was taking time because he was on the lookout for a “suitable candidate.”

The post of the women panel’s chairperson is under the Congress’ quota as per an arrangement with its coalition partner, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). There are reports that the delay is because of a difference of opinion between the CM and president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) Manikrao Thakare. The latter has strongly recommended the name of advocate Lalita Patil of Jalgaon. However, the CM is opposed to her candidature.

Earlier, several Congress legislators had favoured the appointment of Susie Shah, who is the daughter of former state minister BA Desai.

“Our patience is running out. I will be forced to sit in front of the CM’s cabin at Mantralaya and will not get up till he takes a decision,” said NCP legislator Vidya Chavan.

Activist Dr Avisha Kulkarni said, “I will be forced to instal a poor woman on the chair at the commission’s office in Bandra if no decision is taken quickly.”

In the absence of a regular chairperson, the principal secretary of the ministry of women and child welfare, Ujwal Uke, is acting as the ex-officio chairperson.

Unsafe city
Maharashtra has the dubious distinction of being sixth in the national list for crimes against women

Last year, 16,353 cognisable offences against women were registered in the state and indications are that the number will be more this year

In the past, the CM had stated that the decision to appoint chairperson of the State Women’s Commission was taking time because he was on the look out for a “suitable candidate.”