Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Commission for Women chairperson, Shobha Oza, on Thursday said that there are total 12,829 cases are pending in the commission.
She was addressing a press conference at the commission’s office on the completion of her one year as head of the body. Oza blamed the state government for the high pendency of the cases.
She said that due to political reasons, the government was not cooperating with the commission and as a result the commission was unable to function. She condemned what she called the cruel and insensitive attitude of the government. Oza said that in a democracy, the government keeps coming and going but it is wrong, unjust and undemocratic to block the working of the constitutional body for petty political reasons.
Oza said when she had taken over charge as the chairperson last year 10,000 cases were pending in the commission. “We wanted to reduce the pendencies and do whatever we could to provide succor to the complaints. The government, however, moved court challenging our appointments. This brought the working of the commission to a complete standstill."
“Despite the court ordering the government to maintain the status quo not to appoint a new body the government didn’t allow us to function.” she said. The court heard her plea to direct the government to allow the commission for function on March 25, the chairperson added.
Oza said that according to NCRB on an average 16 cases of outraging the modesty of women were reported in the state every day. This was shameful and shows that the government is not doing what should be done and instead only shedding crocodile tears, she said. She added that instead of just talking about the safety and security of women, the state government should take concrete steps to protect them.
