Shiv Sena attacks BJP for dual policy

The Shiv Sena on Friday questioned chief minister Devendra Fadnavis over the leniency shown by the police towards the violence displayed by ABVP members in Pune while the protesters belonging to Shiv Sena were jailed. The Sena said that Mr Fadnavis should clarify if separate yardsticks are being used by the law enforcement agencies.

The Sena held a meeting in Nashik on Friday to discuss the cases registered against sainiks by the BJP. Two days ago, Sena workers, including women, had protested during a meeting of state women’s commission chief Vijaya Rahatkar during which some of the party workers were arrested.

Commenting on the matter, Sena minister Eknath Shinde said that a dual policy was being enacted in the state. For the workers who had been protesting during the programme, cases of agitations should have been filed against them instead of putting them behind bars. “In Fergusson College, an MLA was mobbed and no cases were registered against the perpetrators,” he said. He also said that, the Sena did not fear anyone and would continue to work for the people.

The Sena workers were protesting Ms Rahatkar’s alleged support for a separate Vidarbha state. A fight had ensued between the protesting Sainiks and the BJP activists, in which some women were hurt. Later, Ms Rahatkar clarified that she had spoken about a development backlog and not demanded a separate Vidarbha.

Sena MLA Yogesh Gholap told The Asian Age that, they oppose the dacoity cases registered against their members.

“During the melee, a woman lost her mangalsutra and in her complaint she stated ‘lost’. Then why was a complaint of dacoity registered against sainiks. Moreover, the mangalsutra was found by a police officer, who returned it to her on the spot,” Mr Gholap said. “We have been elected by the people to fulfill their aspirations and we are doing our job. We held a rally on March 19 to highlight public issues,” he said.