MUMBAI: Badalapur minor rape case co-accused Tushar Apate was appointed as a co-opted corporator by the BJP on Friday in the Badalapur Nagar Parishad, triggering widespread outrage and forcing the party to withdraw the decision later in the day.
Apate was the secretary of the educational institution where the minor was raped by Akshay Shinde. Later, ahead of the Maharashtra state Assembly elections, Shinde was killed in a police encounter.
The Badalapur Nagar Parishad published its list of co-opted corporators, in which the BJP and the Shiv Sena co-opted two corporators each, while the Ajit Pawar-led NCP co-opted one corporator. Surprisingly, in the list, the BJP named 2024 Badalapur rape case co accused Tushar Apate as a co-opted corporator.
In the case, Apate was charged under IPC Section 21(2).
The local BJP defended the decision, stating that Apate was only a co accused and that the charges against him had not yet been established.
“Apate is a very prestigious name and a trustee of a renowned educational institution. Besides, he had played a significant role in electing as many as BJP corporators in the recent Badalapur Nagar Panchayat election; therefore, he was rewarded by being appointed as a co-opted corporator,” said a BJP leader.
Following public outrage, the BJP was forced to rescind its decision to appoint Apate as a co-opted corporator. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) had announced and threatened massive protests if the BJP did not change its decision.
Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal said that the BJP’s real face had come out in public with its decision to co-opt Badalapur minor rape case co accused Tushar Apate as a corporator.
Sapkal said this was not the first such instance. In 2017, the BJP had nominated Unnao rape case accused Kuldeep Singh Senghar and even made him an MLA. In the Ankita Bhandari rape case also, instead of taking action against the accused, the BJP had protected him.
“Thousands of women came on the streets against the BJP, but the BJP, which makes tall promises of Ladki Padhao, Ladki Bachao, does exactly the opposite every time. We condemn the decision of the BJP. The Badalapur case has also exposed the BJP. Therefore, women are not safe under the BJP regime in Maharashtra and across India,” Sapkal said.
Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that Apate had submitted his resignation, and that party leadership would take action against those who appointed him as a co-opted corporator.
He said the party would not tolerate such actions and that it was very strict about women’s safety and dignity.