Women activists gathered outside Punjab Bhawan on Friday to protest against the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) government in Punjab. The group also submitted a memorandum to the Punjab Governor and Punjab DIG.
Concerned individuals and women activists from across various organisations including Centre for Struggling Women (CSW), AIDWA gathered to protest against the recent incident of molestation and fatal physical assault of a 14-year old girl that was reported from Moga in Punjab. The Moga incident had occurred on a private bus owned by Orbit Aviation Co., which is a business venture of Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal’s family.
Women activists noted that there was a rise in similar incidents on buses owned by the Orbit Aviation as well as on buses owned by other private transport companies.
“As of now, on Punjab’s roads, a very large number of private buses are plying and that too in violation of permit rules. It is a known fact that although many of these private companies have the permit to ply buses only on a limited number of routes, they are actually plying their buses on a much larger number of bus routes,” noted CSW activist, Maya John.
Fatima K. Chaudhary, also from CSW, said that given the disturbing nexus of the SAD government and private business interests in Punjab, women activists strongly believe that the law and order situation in Punjab will continue to deteriorate.
