Cong claims tribal students headed for Mumbai protest detained; condemns action
Mumbai, Oct 5 (PTI) The Maharashtra Congress alleged that police early on Monday stopped several tribal students who had come to Mumbai to stage a protest at Azad Maidan demanding the resignation of the tribal development minister and detained them.
The students' voices could not be silenced through threats, the Opposition party said, asserting that it would stand with tribal students in the "fight for their legitimate rights".
"Threatening students and using police force instead of seriously considering their issues amounts to suppressing democratic values," the party said in a statement, targeting Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
According to the Congress, tribal students have been protesting for over 10 days seeking redressal of their various demands regarding scholarships, lack of basic amenities in ashram (residential) schools, hostels, among other issues. Many came to Mumbai by bus and on foot to seek the resignation of the tribal development minister for failing to address their issues.
The students, who were seeking the resignation of the tribal development minister and the department's commissioner, were threatened with police cases and a bus carrying them was taken into custody, the Congress claimed.
The Mumbai Police stopped the students at around 3 am, took their photographs and detained them, it charged.
The Congress condemned the alleged action against the students, saying they had come to protest peacefully and democratically over their demands.
In a separate statement, Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal alleged that police used force and attempted to forcibly enter the party's Tilak Bhavan office, where tribal students from Nashik were staying after marching on foot to Mumbai.
Police personnel had been entering the office since midnight, threatening the students and attempting to take them into custody, he claimed.
Sapkal demanded that the police immediately stop what he described as illegal entry into the office and attempts to threaten and forcibly detain the students.
It is a serious matter if the police, who are responsible for maintaining law and order, themselves violate the law," he said.
The Congress would not allow any attempt to suppress the voice of tribal students, Sapkal said, asserting that the party stood firmly with them in support of their legitimate demands.
