With festivities coming up, political parties try to score points by reaching out to women during Mangala Gauri

With festive seasons ahead, the political parties have taken the opportunity to reach out to women during Mangala Gauri. 

Mangala Gaur is a traditional event celebrated by women offering prayers to Goddess Gauri -  which is held during ‘shravan’ month, as per the Marathi calendar.

After the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the BJP, it is now the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena which has planned Mangala Gauri celebrations on a grand scale. 

The Shiv Sena Mahila Aghadi, the women’s wing has taken the initiative of organising Mangala Gauri festivities. 

At a press conference, Shiv Sena MLC Dr Manisha Kayande and spokesperson Sheetal Mhatre announced the series of programmes. 

Women lawyers, doctors, women working in NGOs will be felicitated on this occasion and talks will be organized for women. 

"The government, led by Shinde, has taken many good decisions for women welfare and empowerment. Women are being given priority by Shinde," said Dr Kayande. 

"The government is trying to prevent instances of violence against women, but in case of such incidents, merely filing cases wouldn't be sufficient. Priority should be given to immediate investigation and action. We have demanded establishment of special courts, not just fast track courts, that will deal with such crimes. CCTV network is being extended. A comprehensive new women's policy for Maharashtra is being drafted, no one will be spared in the case of women's violence. It is very wrong to politicize incidents like rape,” Dr Kayande and Mhatre said.  

Dr Kayande added that they will bring forward the role of the government regarding the empowerment of women, the work being done by the government through the medium. "For the first time in the 57-year history of Shiv Sena, women have been given the leadership post," she said.

“The government is taking precautions for women's safety and Shiv Sena is committed to ensure the safety of all religious festivals,” added Mhatre. 

Mhatre further informed that special Konkan-bound buses will ply at low fares for the Ganeshotsav festival. She also stated that separate workshops will be held for women dahi handi teams.