MUMBAI: After Delhi, the students' protest has spread to other parts of Maharashtra. On Tuesday, students and youths staged protests against the alleged Delhi Police brutality on students and over the medical entrance exam paper leak.
The protesters gathered in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray slammed the BJP-led central government, saying it had "lost its mental balance" and was resorting to lathicharge against students and youths peacefully protesting in Delhi and other parts of the country.
He also alleged that the central government forcibly admitted social and environmental activist Sonam Wangchuk to a hospital because he refused to end his hunger protest in Delhi.
Raj Thackeray said the manner in which Wangchuk was dragged away showed that the government had no genuine concern for his health or for resolving the students' issues.
“After witnessing the brutal lathi-charge against protesters, it appears that the government itself has become mentally unstable and needs to be hospitalized. Those in power seem obsessed with demonstrating to the world how they crush legitimate protests and take pleasure in showing it off to the other heads of state, even when you don’t share a common language, by flashing a booming, theatrical laugh for the cameras,” the MNS chief said.
He added, after all, who exactly is Dharmendra Pradhan that the government views his resignation as a personal failure?
“When Manipur was in flames, this same government shielded the then-Chief Minister, Biren Singh, in a similar fashion. The truth is, the two top leaders in power have absolutely no affection for individuals like him or others of his ilk. Their attitude is: No one tells us what to do. Not the opposition, and certainly not the public. After all, we do not get elected based on votes. Our victories rely on manipulating the entire administrative machinery, exploiting chaos in voter lists, and, of course, the power of EVMs. Who cares about the students?” the MNS chief asked.
“History will certainly remember that the students' protest was ruthlessly crushed during Modi's tenure as Prime Minister! If anyone desires such an image for him, and if Modi is willing to fall prey to it, then there is nothing more to be said. I have a request for Prime Minister Narendra Modi: You hold events like 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' (Discussion on Exams), so why not engage in a dialogue with the students now? Their demands are legitimate. The outcry of the nation's students is far more important than the egos of Dharmendra Pradhan and the government,” Raj Thackeray said.
Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray left Mumbai for Delhi to meet the protesters at Jantar Mantar and express his and his party's solidarity with the agitating students.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said that if the BJP-led government beats students and youths, they can reach out through the party's website and it will extend all possible help to the protesters.
He said the world was watching the alleged police brutality and the BJP-led government, where students and even small children were not spared from beatings and assault.
“This is not democracy, but dictatorship, and it will not be tolerated in India. We are against it,” Aaditya Thackeray said.
