Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Friday criticised the Maharashtra government over the issues related to the 19533 girls missing in the state as well as the “security” of women. This is the second time within a week that Pawar has criticised the home department, which is under the purview of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, regarding this matter.
Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, Pawar claimed that between January 1 and May 31 of this year, a total of 19,553 women were reported as "missing" from the state. “The government is not serious about the law and order situation in the state,” he alleged.
Pawar also slammed the government over the “contractual hiring” of personnel in Mumbai police. He said the state has taken the decision to conduct government recruitments on contract.
Earlier this week, the Maharashtra government issued an order to hire 3,000 personnel from its own security corporation who will work under the Mumbai police.
“On one hand a huge numbers of girls are missing while on the other hand, the state government has decided to hire the 11,203 police on contractual basis. The contract period will be for 11 months and after that what will happen with these youths, no one knows. Once the youth are hired as police, then what about their training and other facilities. We oppose this move. Those hired on contract should subsume government service,” said Pawar.
He also expressed his concerns over the recent deaths in state-run hospitals and emphasised the need for permanent recruitment in the health department rather than relying on contractual hiring.