"I completely condemn the statement made by the party backing the police officer. For a common woman to go to a police station and file a complaint against a person in authority is difficult. This officer should have been arrested long back. I will talk to the Commissioner of Police tomorrow and demand for his arrest," Susieben Shah, Chairperson of Maharashtra State Women's Commission, told PTI.
"The statement from the Sena shows the mindset of their leaders. The power of women will show them in the upcoming elections as to where they said," she added.
Meanwhile, political parties across the spectrum condemned the remarks made by the party.
"It takes a woman a lot of guts to register a complaint, especially if she has been molested or raped and to suggest that she does it 'as a fashion', the statement is ridiculous. It is clearly something that I condemn," BJP spokesperson Shaina NC said.
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"The law should be allowed to take its own course. No one is above the law. Political parties and newspapers should not interfere with the law process," he said.
The NCP alleged that the Sena is famous for taking stands "against the interest of women".
"This is the kind of culture Shiv Sena follows. Earlier, they had opposed the talks of giving reservation to women. Shiv Sena is famous for taking stands against the interest of women. Law should decide whether he is guilty or not. But giving him a clean chit shows that they are not serious towards such crimes," NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said.