Bhopal: The proposal mooted by minister of state for technical education (independent charge) Deepak Joshi to close coaching centres at 8 pm has drawn flak not only from the opposition Congress and the student community but also from a minister.
Minister for urban development Maya Singh said that in an age when women are marching ahead in every field, imposing such restrictions on them was unacceptable and retrograde. She said that the state government was committed to protecting girls and women and would ensure that those outraging the modesty of women get the sternest possible punishment.
Congress MP Kamal Nath said that if things have come to such a pass that the government cannot provide security to women and is planning to get coaching classes closed by 8 pm. He said it is high time that the chief minister should put in his papers. He said that it is shameful that no senior government functionary has even cared to meet the gang-rape victim.
The minister’s proposal has evoked strong reaction from female students enrolled in coaching classes. They said that someday the minister may even propose that girls should stop studying to protect themselves from marauders. They said that when girls and women can move around freely till late in the night in a city like Mumbai, why Bhopal should be an exception. Joshi, meanwhile, said that “Shakti Dals” will be constituted in schools and the students will be trained in self-defence.
MP demands removal of slums from near railway tracks
The gang-rape incident seems to have woken up many a politician from deep slumber. Bhopal MP Alok Sanjar has written to the railways demanding that the slum clusters located near railway tracks should be removed. He said that these slums are dens of anti-social and illegal activities. Sanjar said that substance abuse is also commonplace in these slums and that was leading to a spurt in crimes in the area. Sanjar has forwarded a copy of the letter to the district collector, requesting that the district administration should extend help to the railways in removing the slums.
