Face-off likely as no police permission yet for MVA morcha

MVA leaders announced that they would go ahead with the protest march regardless of whether permission was given. The march is scheduled to culminate in a rally outside Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Maharaj station, where all the senior opposition leaders will address the crowd

For the first time since the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was pulled down by the Eknath Shinde faction and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) combine, the three opposition parties have planned a massive show of strength in Mumbai through a protest march, ‘Halla Bol Morcha’, on Saturday. However, with the Shinde-Fadnavis government yet to give permission to the march till late on Thursday, and the MVA coalition adamant on its stand, a showdown could ensue between the two.

Mumbai, India - December 15, 2022: Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders Ajit Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, Prithviraj Chavan with other leaders during a press conference at Devgiri, Ajit Pawar's official bungalow, at Malabar Hill, in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, December 15, 2022. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

On Thursday, MVA leaders announced that they would go ahead with the protest march regardless of whether permission was given. The march is scheduled to culminate in a rally outside Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Maharaj (CSMT) station, where all the senior opposition leaders, including Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, will address the crowd. NCP chief Sharad Pawar may participate in the rally.

MVA leaders pointed out that they had already agreed to curtail the length of the march by starting it from Richardson & Cruddas near JJ Hospital and not from Jijamata Udyan, Byculla as announced earlier.

“Permission for the march has not been denied, and we are still hoping to get it. We will hold it as planned and people from all over the state, especially from areas such as Mumbai, Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune, Raigad and Nashik will join,” said Ajit Pawar, leader of the Opposition after a meeting of senior MVA leaders on Thursday.

The Opposition parties have planned the march to highlight “attempts to undermine Maharashtra’s pride” by the ruling parties. The reasons given by them are governor B S Koshyari’s “insulting” remarks on Chhatrapati Shivaji and other icons of the state, the alleged failure of the government to respond to Karnataka aggressively over the escalated border dispute as also its failure to stop the exodus of investment to other states, especially Gujarat.

The “Maharashtra pride plank” is aimed at building up a narrative against the Shinde-Fadnavis government ahead of the local body elections in cities and districts across the state, including the BMC which has been ruled by the Shiv Sena (UBT) for over two decades. Several smaller opposition parties and non-government organisations too have announced their intention of joining the march.

“Our preparations are complete. I urge all the people who love Maharashtra and are unhappy with all that has happened, to wake up, and if awakened, then to stand firm and come join this unprecedented march,” said Thackeray.

Chief minister Eknath Shinde responded with a cryptic statement when asked about the delay in giving permission to the march. “In a democracy, everyone has a right to protest. The state government will not take any action which will hamper the principles of democracy,” he said, not making it clear whether the government would give permission for the agitation or not.

The MVA parties have claimed that they will bring in around 2.5 lakh people, for which purpose they have booked private buses, trains and other modes of transport. However, insiders said that around 1.5 lakh people would be mobilised. “We all are trying to collect the most people from MMR. Amongst us, the Shiv Sena is mobilising the maximum number of people,” said an NCP leader.

MVA leaders alleged that attempts were being made by the Shinde-Fadnavis government to stop people from coming to Mumbai. “We wanted to book 100 MSRTC buses but the government put up a rider of police permission for booking the buses, which we are still awaiting. It has never happened in the past,” said Bhai Jagtap, Mumbai Congress president.

“We believe that the police will try to stop people at toll nakas, the entry points to the city,” said an MVA insider. “So we have directed people to leave their vehicles near the toll nakas and take local trains to enter the city.”