MVA’s ‘Halla Bol’, protest march against Shinde-led govt in Maharashtra | In Pics

Maharashtra’s opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Saturday staged a massive protest march called “Halla Bol” against the state government led by Eknath Shinde. The march was in response to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and others' remarks that "insulted" Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and social reformers Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule. MVA also cited the issues of the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute and the recent loss of development projects from the state. The march was joined by top opposition leaders such as Uddhav Thackeray, Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena, Sharad Pawar of the NCP, and others. This is the first combined show of strength of the MVAsince the Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party, and Congress split with the Eknath Shinde faction, which joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and toppled their government.