Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday claimed that the protest at Badlapur in Thane district over the alleged sexual abuse of two kindergarten girls was politically motivated and aimed at maligning the state government.
He also said that the majority of protesters were outsiders.
Talking to reporters, Shinde targeted the opposition and said those doing politics over the incident should be ashamed.
A massive protest broke out in Badlapur town on Tuesday as angry parents, local residents and others blocked railway tracks and ransacked the school where two kindergarten girl students were sexually abused by a male attendant last week.
"The protest was politically motivated because the protesters were not local residents. The local residents who were part of the protest could be counted on fingers," he said.
He said state minister Girish Mahajan agreed to all demands of the protestors but they were still not ready to relent.
"This means they just wanted to malign the government," he said.
According to him, some protesters were carrying placards mentioning the 'Ladki Bahin Yojana', his government's flagship financial assistance scheme for women.
The placards said they did not want the monthly sum of Rs 1,500 but protection for their girls.
The protestors blocked the rail route which led to suspension of rail services between Badlapur to Ambernath for over 10 hours.
"Does anyone protest like this? The stomachache the opposition is suffering from due to this scheme is visible from yesterday's protest," Shinde said.
Under the 'Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana', eligible women are entitled to get a monthly sum of Rs 1,500.
At least 25 police personnel, including the railway cops, were injured in incidents of stone-pelting at the Badlapur railway station and elsewhere in the town during the protest.
Police have arrested at least 72 persons and filed four FIRs in connection with the violence.
Sule seeks Fadnavis' resignation
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar leader Supriya Sule on Wednesday targeted the Maharashtra government over the Badlapur sexual abuse case and demanded the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a protest organised to condemn the Badlapur incident, she accused the Eknath Shinde-led dispensation of not being serious about the issue of women's safety, and alleged that while the government was busy breaking parties, it had no time for common people.
Sule said, "Had action been taken by the education minister immediately after the incident at the school, the need for an agitation would not have arisen. It shows that this government is not at all serious about the safety of women. The government is busy breaking the houses, parties, using the Income Tax Department and Enforcement Directorate."
The Baramati MP criticised Fadnavis over the incident and asked what happened to the Shakti Act that was brought earlier.
"Home minister, who spends more time in Delhi than in Mumbai, should give a clarification on this incident and as a moral responsibility, he should resign," she demanded.
Questioning the delay in registering an FIR, Sule sought to know why inquiry was not launched to probe the police's inaction.
"Had there been no agitation by people, this incident would not have come to light," the NCP-SP working president said.
The law and order situation in the state was crumbling and offences against women were on the rise, she alleged.
"The Badalpur school incident should have been looked into more sensitively," she added.
