Maharashtra Political Crisis: Congress Leader's 'Kidnap and Assault' Shock

Maharashtra Congress Chief Harshavardhan Sapkal said that the party will not tolerate the kidnapping and beating of a district president of a national party in the middle of elections.

In a post on the social media platform X, he said, "Goons of the ruling party are carrying out life-threatening attacks on people from the opposition party and labelling themselves as followers of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj."

"The attack on Congress District President of Ahilyanagar, Sachin Gujar, and the attack on Pravin Gaikwad, the president of Sambhaji Brigade and a progressive thinker, are some examples of this," he said.

Pointing out that this is not the first incident, he said, "Two Congress workers who wanted to contest the municipal elections were arrested at night, kept in custody, and beaten. After that, the police put them in their own vehicle and took them to former BJP MP Sujay Vikhe Patil and Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil to pressure them - the entire sequence feels like a movie plot."

Equating Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' regime with Aurangzeb's rule, Sapkal asked "whether the opposition can even contest elections freely".

Further, the Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar also condemned the alleged attack.

"Attacks are being carried out on opposition leaders right in the midst of elections. What is the Home Department and the police doing in the state?" he asked.

"There can be ideological differences, but that doesn't mean a plan is being hatched to eliminate the opposition. The question of what the police are doing doesn't even arise anymore because they have become ineffective. The Home Minister should pay attention and ensure that the accused in this case are arrested, and strict action must be taken," said Wadettiwar.

Notably, local body polls will be held in Maharashtra on December 2.

- IANS