Post Dabholkar's murder, state clears ordinance to push anti-superstition law

The assassination of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar in Pune yesterday and the fierce protests in its wake forced the Democratic Front government to swing into action yesterday and take decisions that it has stalled for many yearsu00a0 Dr Narendra Dabholkar is shot dead by unknown assailants in Pune while he is on his morning walku00a0Illustration Amit Bandre Within 28 hours of Dabholkarrsquos death the state government cleared an ordinance to push the antisuperstition law that the slain man had championed for 18 years without success Grief and anger erupts on the streets with protests raging in places like Satara Kolhapur Nashik Aurangabad and Nagpur Close to 300 protesters gather outside Shivaji Mandir at Dadar to mourn his death Unprecedented public reaction to the killing in the form of several street protests morchas and dharnas forced the leadership to work overtime and approve the AntiSuperstition and Black Magic Ordinance to replace a bill that had been in the backburner for eight years CM deputy CM Home Minister and other ministers rush to Dabholkarrsquos native place in Satara to pay their last respects How the hours passed Aug 20 730 am Dr Dabholkar is shot dead by unknown assailants at Pune while he is on his morning walk News spreads like wildfire across the state and is received with disbelief and outrage People start pouring into the streets sobbing shouting slogans At Satara angry protesters gherao the CMrsquos vehicle shouting slogans Bereaved wife reminds Chavan how her husband would spend hours waiting to meet him 1 pm Actors and social workers gathered at Shivaji Mandir in Dadar to protest the gruesome murder Similar protests were staged in Pune Reactions started pouring in from Satara and the market was shut down Silent protests and even jail bharo agitations followed in Ichalkaranji Kolhapur Nashik Aurangabad and Nagpur Back in the city an urgent cabinet meeting is held where intense debate ensues between Narayan Rane RR Patil and Chhagan Bhujbal Bhujbal raises his voice saying lsquodesh key samney izzat chali gayirsquo and demands that the ordinance be approved 24 pm CM Prithviraj Chavan who was in Kolhapur cancelled his scheduled engagements and rushed to Satara with his cabinet colleagues Deputy CM Ajit Pawar who was in Mumbai also reached the district for the rationalistrsquos last rites Hours after the meeting orders are issued to the social justice department to work on the ordinance Officials of the department rush to Shanmukhananda Hall where the CM signs on the dotted line thus setting the stage for the antisuperstition law Home Minister R R Patil was in Mantralaya till late in the afternoon from where he went to Pune to take a chopper to reach Satara in time for the last rites He had a word with his deputy Satej Patil and Cooperation Minister Harshwardhan Patil who also reached Satara gtgt At Satara angry protesters gheraoed the CMrsquos vehicle When Chavan arrived at Dabholkarrsquos home the slain activistrsquos wife reminded him how her husband would spend hours waiting for an audience with him gtgt Chavan and his cabinet colleagues returned to Mumbai late at night only to be greeted by news of the angry protests in the streets gtgt The statewide unrest prompted NCP Chief Sharad Pawar to intervene He is believed to have spoken to deputy CM Ajit Pawar R R Patil and PWD Minister Chhagan Bhujbal The NCPrsquos urgency to push for an ordinance was prompted by the fact that it has a significant presence in western Maharashtra and Dabholkarrsquos death could result in a serious backlash from its support base The NCPrsquos panic was palpable in the press release it issued even before official confirmation of the decision had been received Aug 21 10 am The state intelligence department formally briefed Chavan and Patil about the statewide outrage They were also informed about possible protests during the day Angry reactions were reported from 17 districts across the state 11 AM At the cabinet meeting Industries Minister Narayan Rane is said to have lamented the law and order situation in Pune R R Patil responded that various issues related to his department stagnated once they reached the lsquohigherrsquo level indirectly taking a swipe at Chavan The files relating to fresh recruitments proposals relating to security were stuck for six months at a time lsquoI donrsquot have the power to transfer police officers How am I to perform with such constraints upon mersquo he was heard grumbling gtgt Other ministers interrupted Patil asking how a man of Dr Dabholkarrsquos stature could become the unwitting victim of a daylight murder Patil responded that activists lack threat perception He also admitted that his department had never sensed there was any danger to his life his colleagues told him not to make such admissions in public 12 pm PWD Minister Chhagan Bhujbal broke in raising his voice to complain that the murder had given the state a bad name lsquoWe have lost face It has sent a wrong signal Now the ordinance should at least be passed If any legal hurdles exist let them be solved right now If necessary we can change the wording of the law and frame a new billrsquo he exhorted the cabinet 1 PM Hours after the meeting was adjourned orders were issued to the social justice department to work on the ordinance Principal Secretary R D Shinde swung into action with a series of meetings with officials from the law and judiciary department He directed his officials to get it all done on the same working day 6 pm Officials of the social justice department went to Shanmukhananda Hall to get approval from the CM His approval was taken for the ordinance as well as the cabinet resolution also Later the file was routed through departments of law and judiciary parliamentary affairs the chief secretaryrsquos office and finally the principal secretary to the CM Most of the officials from concerned departments stayed back at Mantralaya to complete the formalities The planned law The new measure will empower the government to bring under its ambit gt Social and religious evils gt Human or animal sacrifices gt Rituals to drive out evil spirits or ensure a male progeny perpetrated by selfstyled godmen witchcraft and wizardry often cheating the gullible public In the offing By the end of the working day all the approvals had been obtained from relevant departments and the files were ready to be dispatched to Raj Bhavan for the governorrsquos final seal of approval The governor is expected to officially promulgate the ordinance by afternoon today Two significant changes have been made to the earlier bill ndash Section 5 which suggests punishment for lsquophysical and mental torturersquo was removed after Minority Development Minister Naseem Khan pointed out that this could interfere with proceedings during Muharram Section 13 which advocated penalties for companies or trusts that sell lsquomiracle curesrsquo has also been scrappedu00a0 Signed and sealed Sir can you sign this please A bunch of files find their way to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan as he takes the dais during Vision2014 at Shanmukhananda Hall yesterday PicsAtul Kamble Hmmmmm What do I do now Please give me a sign I should just sign this All ok Former CM Ashok Chavan was seen having a long discussion with the CM after he initialed the files and handed them back