Mumbai, Aug 23 (Reporter) Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar Group) National President Sharad Pawar on Friday said that a shutdown called by Opposition parties in Maharashtra on Saturday in the wake of the Badlapur incident has been called off. Pawar, on his social media handle X, stated that the Bombay High Court has ruled that the bandh is unconstitutional. He said the bandh was called to draw the Maharashtra government’s attention towards the strong public sentiments over the Badlapur incident. He said the bandh call was within the Opposition parties’ right to peaceful protest, as part of the fundamental rights. Pawar said once the High Court ruled that the bandh is unconstitutional, there was not enough time to appeal against the decision in the Supreme Court. “ As the Indian judiciary is a constitutional institution, it is requested to withdraw tomorrow's bandh while respecting the Constitution,” tweeted Pawar. After Pawar’s appeal, his party and the Congress have decided to call off Saturday’s bandh but Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) sources said the party may organise a one-hour protest on Saturday. Instead of a day-long bandh, Opposition activists will hold a protest between 11 am and noon while wearing black bands, sources said. Two victims, aged three and four, were allegedly sexually assaulted by a cleaning staff member at their school in Badlapur on August 12 and 13. The accused, Akshay Shinde, was arrested on August 17. The incident sparked a public outcry and protests across the state...////...