MUMBAI: Law enforcement agencies on Friday thwarted agitating Congress activists’ attempt to march to Raj Bhavan to protest against the deployment of the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI for cases involving politicians in the state, the treatment meted out to leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, and the imposition of GST on essential commodities.
Senior Congress politicians, including Congress state unit president Nana Patole, former ministers Balasaheb Thorat, Naseem Khan, Varsha Gaikwad, Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan, Congress city unit president Bhai Jagtap, and working president Charan Singh Sapra, assembled near the council hall to take out a procession to Raj Bhavan. The police detained them before they could start.
“The month-old Shinde-Fadnavis government is making all attempts to crush our agitation using police force. We will not succumb to them and continue out agitation,” Patole said.
Patole said that while the people were suffering from unprecedented inflation, the Narendra Modi-led NDA government had snatched food from their plate by imposing GST on essential commodities. “Unfortunately, the NDA government is in denial mode, unemployment is at an all-time high and, by launching the Agneepath scheme, the government has taken the youths for a ride,” Patole said.
Patole said that though a peaceful protest was planned, the police began preventive detention on Thursday night and notices were sent to thousands of Congress activists.
Congress legislature party leader Balasaheb Thorat said the situation in the country was worse than during British rule as there was no ban on holding protest rallies and demonstrations in the colonial era.
Activists of the Congress also staged demonstrations across the state.
