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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

MVA protests for third day:

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies continued their agitation for the third day in different parts of Maharashtra with an aggressive state Congress hitting the streets today to protest the detention of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra and other Congress leaders yesterday, here on Wednesday. State and city Youth Congress again carried out vociferous protests near Mantralaya raising slogans, carrying banners and placards slamming the...

MVA protests for third day:

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies continued their agitation for the third day in different parts of Maharashtra with an aggressive state Congress hitting the streets today to protest the detention of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra and other Congress leaders yesterday, here on Wednesday. State and city Youth Congress again carried out vociferous protests near Mantralaya raising slogans, carrying banners and placards slamming the state and central Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and when some attempted to enter inside, they were prevented by a strong posse of Mumbai Police deployed there since Monday. As tensions appeared to escalate, the police clamped down by detaining top state and city Youth Congress leaders including President Harshwardhan Sapkal, Vijay Wadettiwar, Bhai Jagtap, Hussain Dalwai, and many others. Thousands of students carried out a fresh demonstration at Dadar west Shivaji Park to vent their ire at the police action on Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)’s agitation in New Delhi on Monday. Several MVA leaders and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray visited or expressed solidarity with the protesting youth, comprising many women. Opposition’s Voice The Congress leaders alleged that Rahul Gandhi was targeted by the BJP-led government to muzzle democratic dissent, suppress the Opposition voices inside and outside Parliament and trampling upon the peoples' Constitutional Rights to protest peacefully. Defying pouring rains in the city on Wednesday, Congress workers along with activists of MVA allies, staged a noisy demonstration in Chembur and another group attempted to storm the BJP office in south Mumbai, condemning the assault on students in New Delhi and the detention of the Gandhi siblings. Senior Congress leader Hussain Dalwai flayed the government for “misusing the police” to gag democratic rights and the protests were intended to defend the Constitution and democracy against the BJP’s policy of intolerance of dissent in any form. “This is gross injustice. We are not allowed to protest against the government failures as they are misusing the police. The PM is scared of taking the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as he could be the next. We want to highlight to the BJP to govern the country as per the Constitution,” Dalwai declared, interacting with the media at Nariman Point. As the BJP also threatened to launch counter-protests, the police cordoned off and deployed a precautionary security ring around Tilak Bhavan, the state Congress headquarters, as leaders from both sides exchanged political darts and looked aggressive enough for a confrontation. MVA ‘bandh’, ‘Tricolour’ march today The state is set for another two days of political turmoil as the MVA has announced a Maharashtra shutdown (‘bandh’) on Thursday followed by a non-partisan ‘Tricolour Peace March’ on Friday. MVA allies, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) President Prakash Ambedkar and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, besides other leaders of the alliance, informed of the state and city level actions today. Ambedkar appealed to the masses and also the BJP youth to participate wholeheartedly in the bandh tomorrow and claimed that students’ bodies, parent-teachers associations, colleges, universities, other institutes of higher education, private coaching institutions, and other governmental departments could support the shutdown, as it has now become a national issue. Aaditya sought the peoples’ participation in the ‘Tricolour Peace March’ on the theme of “One Nation, One Emotion” planned on July 24 afternoon to Shivaji Park, in support of environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk, the Cockroach Janta Party, plus the youth and students protesting in New Delhi. Terming it as a national citizens’ movement rather than a political party, he called upon the people not to carry any party flags but unite under the National Tricolour to assert democratic rights and express resentment against the government’s high-handed policies. Meanwhile, Mumbai Police have already imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 across the city from July 23-to- August 6, apprehending the possibility of law-and-order disturbances.

Fadnavis tightens grip

Mumbai: Even as the Maratha quota stir in Mumbai ended on Tuesday and leader of the stir Manoj Jarange-Patil yet again portrayed as a hero, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has emerged victorious and has actually tightened his grip on the state.


“From the beginning we were ready for implementation of records of Hyderabad gazetteer. I’m happy that after deliberations with the cabinet sub-committee the activists finally agreed to proposals put forth by the committee. The decision has preserved the social fabric of Maharashtra from eroding,” Fadnavis said while expressing satisfaction over the way the agitation in Mumbai ended today. He also gave credit to the cabinet sub-committee and both the Deputy Chief Ministers while enumerating various measures the Mahayuti governments have taken for the Maratha community.


“The decision to will help the needy and eligible individuals from Maratha community while giving confidence to those from the OBC communities that injustice is not being done to them,” the CM said while elaborating the real meaning of the decisions made today.


“We don’t have any grudges for the state government now,” Jarange-Patil said as he ended his indefinite fast by consuming lemon water at the hands of Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, the head of the cabinet sub-committee on Maratha quota. This was the most dramatic moment in the whole episode. The agitators were cursing CM Fadnavis over his caste, his physical appearance, his family-members and their hooliganism made the Mumbaikars believe that the doomsday is near. The condition rapidly transformed from that moment on and hardly within half a day the agitation in Mumbai was winded up. Vikhe-Patil gave the credit for this to CM Fadnavis.


As members of the team in CMO put it, the CM was very confident and firm since the very beginning of the agitation. Firstly, while expressing the government’s desire to hold talks with the agitators, he let them come to the heart of Mumbai without official discussing a word with them. They came to the main business district of Mumbai, which was a dream for most of them. It emboldened the activists as they felt it was their success. Then for next couple of days they realized they won’t be able to survive in Mumbai much without the covert support of the administration. This had two reactions, while the causal participants of the agitation roamed around freely across the city showing their perceived strength, the leaders of the agitation started seeking communication channels for negotiations.


At this point the CM made it clear that the solution will be within the legal framework. He also made clear the shortcomings of the demands being raised by the activists. The solution was already almost ready with the government by this point of time. Then the courts and the pressure of judiciary came handy to make the activists agree to the pre-decided proposals. This was a solution that made everybody happy.


The CM was ‘Mr Cool’ in his conduct and appearance during the whole episode. “There people who were working hard. There were some who were pretending to work hard and there were many others who remained absolutely clueless for the entire period,” said a senior CMO associate while describing the scenario at the CMO during the whole episode. Such a situation is possible only when the leader as complete control over the situation and a keen sense as to when and how a situation can escalate, the official added.


As political commentator Bhau Torsekar puts it, the stir is Mumbai has created the effect on the minds of common people of the MMR region which can be compared to those of the Shaheen bag and Farmers’ agitation created in Delhi. Torsekar blames adverse effects of these agitations for the devastating defeat of the AAP in Delhi and says that one should not be surprised if similar results are seen in the elections of BMC and other Municipal Corporations of the MMR region.


Also, the fact that DCM Eknath Shinde, who was hailed for being able to successfully managing the previous agitation of Jarange and not letting them enter Mumbai, didn’t have much role to play this time around. That is yet another aspect which underlined Fadnavis’ tightened grip on the state politics.

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