Ugly clash at Rajkot fort where Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue collapsed
Maha Vikas Agadhi members protest against the collapse of the Shivaji Maharaj statue, in Thane, on Wednesday on Wednesday. Pic/PTI
The Rajkot fort where an eight-month-old statue of Shivaji Maharaj collapsed early this week turned into a battlefield for the supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Maha Vikas Agadhi (MVA) on Wednesday. The clash began when local BJP MP Narayan Rane and his son Nilesh, and the top brass of the Opposition, Aaditya Thackeray, Jayant Patil, Vijay Wadettiwar and Ambadas Danve, arrived almost at the same time to review the situation.
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Both sides refused to leave the fort. They then threw stones and water bottles at each other as the police tried to control political workers of both sexes. It was not immediately known how the visitors clashed, but some said the delay in travel led to the back-to-back entries of the BJP and MVA entourages. Amidst sloganeering, aggressive posturing and heated exchanges of words, some minor scuffles took place between the workers and police, who were clearly caught off guard and had to summon additional force. Rane and his son demanded that the outsiders be asked to leave first. The MVA, especially Shiv Sena (UBT) supporters, resisted. Separated by the police and supporters, the rival sides were taken into confidence by state NCP chief Jayant Patil, who mediated to find a way out before things could go uglier. After a couple of hours, Thackeray was allowed passage. He and other MVA leaders addressed a rally to condemn the statue incident.
The rivalry between the Ranes and Thackerays dates back to the last decade of the 20th century. The former CM from the undivided Sena had joined the Congress some 20 years ago. He is part of the BJP now. In Malvan, the lower region of Konkan, political violence is not new. Wednesday’s incident, if not ended amicably, could have been the worst because of the presence of top leaders.
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