12 April,2024 11:00 AM IST | Nagpur | mid-day online correspondent
Congress leader Vilas Muttemwar/ X
Congress leader Vilas Muttemwar has written to the Election Commission (EC) regarding an agitation by BJP activists outside his home in Nagpur. He described the protest as illegal and a breach of the Model Code of Conduct for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.
According to Muttemwar, the protest on April 5 ignored the prohibitory orders in the neighbourhood where his house is located. He said that he has been vigorously participating in the Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency campaign of Congressman Vikas Thakre, reported PTI.
Muttemwar claimed that on April 5, at around 6:30 pm, BJP workers congregated outside his home carrying flags from the party's youth branch, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. They sparked a commotion, yelling anti-party slogans and even setting his effigy on fire, the PTI report further stated.
He was quoted as saying in PTI, "Around 6.30 pm on April 5, around 40 members the BJP came in groups and assembled at Shankar Nagar Square near my residence, right in front of police personnel. They had a banner in their hands highlighting the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, one of the wings of the BJP."
The Union Minister further added, "They created nuisance and ruckus on the road. They raised slogans abusing me and used foul language towards me and my political party. The said karyakartas/members also burnt my effigy and thereby miserably failed to comply with the order issued by the Nagpur police commissioner under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure."
According to Muttemwar's letter to the EC, "videos of the incident, recorded by media personnel and shared on social media, clearly show the individuals involved in the agitation." He pleaded with the panel to punish them appropriately, the PTI report further stated.
Meanwhile, in another unrelated incident, Shiv Sena (UBT) is demanding cancellation of Ramdas Tadas' candidature owing to the abuse allegations levelled by his daughter-in-law Pooja Tadas.
According to the media reports, Tadas' daughter-in-law Pooja claimed that she was abused by her in-laws and that she was kept in a different flat. She claimed she was beaten-up when she went to her marital home.