© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Days after newly renamed Aurangabad was hit by clashes during Ram Navami, the Maha Vikas Aghadi will be holding its first joint show of strength after the toppling of its government in mid-2022, in the city on Sunday.
Tension has been high in the city ever since its renaming to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in February, and is believed to have fed into the violence on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. At its rally, the MVA is set to target the Maharashtra government over the law and order situation, with other parts of the state such as Malvani in Mumbai and Jalgaon areas also hit by violence, that began on Ram Navami.
In the clashes in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’s Kiradpura area, one person was killed, several policemen injured and property, including vehicles, was damaged.
The Shinde Sena-BJP government tried to convince the MVA to call off the rally with the administration finally giving permission on several conditions.
But, in a move that is set to exacerbate matters, the BJP announced Saturday a plan to take out a ‘Savarkar Gaurav Yatra‘ from a chowk named after the late Hindutva ideologue, just a kilometre from the MVA rally site, as part of a state-wide campaign.
The march, in honour of Savarkar and to oppose routine attacks on him by the Congress and Rahul Gandhi, will cover all three Assembly seats in the city, a BJP office-bearer said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Deepak Girhe told PTI: “The routes and locations of the (MVA) rally and (BJP) yatra are different. We will deploy nearly 300 policemen for both events to ensure they take place smoothly.”
At the MVA rally, top leaders of all the three partners – the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP and Congress – are expected to be present. The rally is the first of seven to be held across the state by the alliance over the next two months.
Indicating the mood within the MVA, NCP MP Supriya Sule on Saturday demanded that Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the Home department, resign over the violence and over an alleged threatening call to Uddhav Sena MP Sanjay Raut. “Riots taking place in Maharashtra is a very serious matter. In addition, a senior leader like Sanjay Raut is being threatened. If he (Fadnavis) cannot handle the department, he should resign,” she said, adding that she would approach Union Home Minister Amit Shah to get Raut more security.
Speaking of the violence, Raut alleged it could be “sponsored” by the government. The MVA has been claiming that the Shinde Sena-BJP government is trying its best to foil the rally, and that the violence was a part of that.
Earlier, Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan said that the administration will deny permission if it finds that the MVA rally will create more trouble. Shinde Sena MLA Sanjay Shirsat said the organisers will be held guilty if the situation worsens after the rally.
The Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Council and the main organiser of the rally, the Uddhav Sena’s Ambadas Danve, said the meeting will be held with enthusiasm, but peacefully.
Apart from law and order issues, the Uddhav Sena is expected to sharpen its attack on the breakaway Shinde Sena at the rally. The Congress will be raising the issues of Central government’s refusal to declare a JPC probe into the Gautam Adani row, and the suspension of Rahul Gandhi as MP.
Incidentally, at a press conference Saturday, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said: “We as a party support the JPC. But there is a second angle to it. The Chief Justice of India has ordered a five-member expert committee to report on (the Adani issue). When the CJI has directed this, it needs to be taken into consideration too.”
Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said: “The state is seeing one of its worst governments. It wants to bully the Opposition and its people. But we will not allow it. Sunday’s rally will show that people stand with us.”
