Mumbai: Maharashtra Transport minister Pratap Baburao Sarnaik, who happens to be a senior leader of Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, dared police to arrest him after distancing himself from his own government amid the raging language debate.
Sarnaik on Tuesday tried to join a protest led by the Raj Thackeray-founded Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) in Thane’s Mira Bhayandar.
Several workers of MNS were detained when they took out a march to counter the protests against last week’s ‘slapgate’ incident, in which MNS workers assaulted a food stall owner for not speaking Marathi.
Despite some MNS workers heckling the minister and forcing him to leave the protest site in Thane, Sarnaik criticised the police for their actions in halting the MNS-led rally.
“The police action was completely unjustified. The government has not issued any instructions to suppress a peaceful march held in support of Marathi pride. The way police are detaining people it raises doubts that they are working on some party agenda,” the minister told mediapersons.
Sarnaik said he was ready to face arrest.
“The Marathi Ekikaran Samiti and several other organisations had applied for the rally, but were denied permission. I am going – if the police dare, let them arrest me. I stand with those who are speaking up for Marathi Asmita,” he said in the morning.
Hundreds of people, including workers and leaders from Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), participated in the MNS protest, supported by Marathi Ekikaran Samiti and other local organisations.
They marched through the streets of Mira Bhayandar, raising slogans in support of Marathi identity.
The situation, however, turned tense when the Transport minister arrived at the protest site. Angry MNS workers labelled him a “traitor” and demanded he leave. As more people got agitated, Sarnaik was forced to retrace his steps.
Several MNS workers, including Thane chief Avinash Jadhav, were detained. While some were apprehended before the protest began, others were taken away by police as they addressed the media.
Even female protesters were taken away in police vans.
Sarnaik said he will raise the matter with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.