Stone-pelters at Mumbai’s rail-roko protest will face action: Fadnavis

Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, leader of opposition in the legislative assembly, had demanded withdrawal of the cases against the youths.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said the government will not withdraw the cases against the railway job aspirants who resorted to stone-pelting during the rail-roko protest on Tuesday morning.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said the cases against the youths who participated in the protest silently and in a democratic manner will be withdrawn (HT File)

Speaking in the legislative assembly, Fadnavis said the cases against the youths who participated in the protest silently and in a democratic manner will be withdrawn. “A wrong precedent will be set if such agitators are spared. In future, more such violent protests would take place if no action is taken now. The youths who pelted stones on trains and the police will have to face action,” he said.

Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, leader of opposition in the legislative assembly, had demanded withdrawal of the cases against the youths. He said while it was true that the protest inconvenienced commuters, it was out of the despair that job aspirants protested. “Their future is at stake if the cases against them are not withdrawn,” he said.

Nearly 3,000 apprentices of the Indian Railways had staged rail-roko agitation between Dadar and Matunga stations on Tuesday. The protesters blocked the Central line train paralyzing the rush hour services. Some of them threw stones at the police and trains. The police registered complaints against the protesters.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray had a telephonic conversation with Union railway minister Piyush Goyal regarding jobs for the railway apprentices. According to MNS sources, Goyal assured Thackeray that he was working out modalities to absorb them in the Railways. “Goyal told Rajsaheb that he wanted to end the unrest and give them jobs in the Railways,” said a MNS leader. Raj also asked Goyal to take a humanitarian view of the apprentices against whom cases were lodged. Goyal said he would do all in his capacity.