Maha BJP panel meets MOS home, seeks ‘assault’ probe
MUMBAI: Law and order has collapsed in Maharashtra, a delegation of opposition Bharatiya Janata Party leaders (BJP) complained to junior home minister Nityanand Rai and home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla in New Delhi, and asked the central government to take serious note of the situation.
There have been protests by right-wing groups and opposition parties in recent days over the use of loudspeakers in mosques in the state.
An announcement by two independent lawmakers that they were going to chant the Hanuman Chalisa outside chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s home to remind him of his Hindutva roots also led to confrontations between supporters of the Shiv Sena and the BJP over the weekend.
The delegation of BJP lawmakers from Maharashtra, led by former parliamentarian Kirit Somaiya, demanded that a special investigation team from the Union home ministry probe a confrontation between Sena workers and Somaiya on April 23 when at least four people, including a former Mumbai mayor, were arrested and a first information report (FIR) filed against Somaiya’s driver for rash driving, which led to injuries among some Sena workers.
The Shiv Sena, which is part of the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government, called the meeting a “ploy to defame Maharashtra”.
Breaking his silence over the controversy, chief minister Thackeray said on Monday that anybody could chant the Hanuman Chalisa at his residence, but no one had the right to threaten the Shiv Sena. “If anyone is resorting to dadagiri (hooliganism), we also know how to do it,” he said.
The delegation, which also consisted of four BJP MLAS — Mihir Kotecha, Parag Shah, Rahul Narvekar, Amit Satam — and BJP councillor Vinod Mishra, submitted a memorandum that stated Somaiya was assaulted by “70-80 Shiv Sena workers” with stones, bottles and slippers. The leaders said that Mumbai police supported the attackers, who broke the window of Somaiya’s car and injured the former parliamentarian. “The home ministry should probe the attack by setting up an SIT. The CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) should be asked to register an FIR for the attack on the security personnel in the security squad of Somaiya and strict action be taken against the Shiv Sena workers involved in the attack,” the memorandum stated.
“Nityanand Rai assured the BJP delegation to take appropriate steps to stop abuse of power and assault,” Somaiya tweeted after the meeting.
Somaiya has Z-plus security — the highest category of security cover — of CISF personnel. He had earlier written to the Union home ministry to review his security arrangements after he claimed he was attacked by Sena workers in Pune in February.
Former Mumbai mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar was among four persons arrested and later released on bail on Monday in connection with the attack, which took place on Saturday after Somaiya visited lawmakers, parliamentarian from Amravati Navneet Rana and Badnera legislator Ravi Rana, at a suburban police station shortly after their arrest.
The Rana duo had announced that they will chant prayers outside Matoshree, the chief minister’s private residence, following which Shiv Sena workers gathered in large numbers outside their home and Matoshree.
Though the duo later rescinded the plan, police arrested both under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including section 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion and acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony).