Aurangabad tense as MVA rally vs BJP-Shiv Sena’s Savarkar yatra today, days after Ram Navami clashes

A rally by the Maha Vikas Aghadi and the 'Savarkar Gaurav Yatra' by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party with Shiv Sena will be organised on Sunday in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, formerly known as Aurangabad, just days after the clashes during Ram Navami.

Tension has been high in the city since its renaming to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in February.

At the MVA rally which will be held on Sunday evening at Marathwada Sanskrutik Mandal ground, top leaders of all three partners the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP and Congress, are expected to be present. The rally is the first of seven to be held across the state by the alliance over the next two months.

“The preparations for the rally are complete. The ground will be filled to capacity and we have also made arrangements to set up equipment for people outside the venue to hear the speeches,” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Subhash Desai said after inspecting the site on Saturday.

The MVA is set to target the Maharashtra government over the law and order situation, with other parts of the state such as Malvani in Mumbai and Jalgaon areas also hit by violence, that began on Ram Navami.

The Shinde Sena-BJP government tried to convince the MVA to call off the rally with the administration finally giving permission on several conditions.

The BJP also announced on Saturday to take out a ‘Savarkar Gaurav Yatra’ from a chowk named after the late Hindutva ideologue, just a kilometre from the MVA rally site, as part of a statewide campaign.

The rally which is held in the honour of Savarkar and to oppose routine attacks on him by the Congress and Rahul Gandhi will cover all three Assembly seats in the city, a BJP office-bearer said.

“The routes and locations of the (MVA) rally and (BJP) yatra are different. We will deploy nearly 300 policemen for both events to ensure they take place smoothly”, Deputy Commissioner of Police Deepak Girhe said.

NCP MP Supriya Sule on Saturday demanded the resignation of Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the Home department, over the violence and an alleged threatening call to Uddhav Sena MP Sanjay Raut.

“Riots taking place in Maharashtra is a very serious matter. In addition, a senior leader like Sanjay Raut is being threatened. If he (Fadnavis) cannot handle the department, he should resign,” she said, adding that she would approach Union Home Minister Amit Shah to get Raut more security.

Speaking of the violence, Raut alleged it could be “sponsored” by the government. The MVA has been claiming that the Shinde Sena-BJP government is trying its best to foil the rally and that the violence was a part of that.

Earlier, Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan said that the administration will deny permission if it finds that the MVA rally will create more trouble. Shinde Sena MLA Sanjay Shirsat said the organisers will be held guilty if the situation worsens after the rally.

The Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Council and the main organiser of the rally, the Uddhav Sena’s Ambadas Danve, said the meeting will be held with enthusiasm, but peacefully.

Apart from law and order issues, the Uddhav Sena is expected to sharpen its attack on the Shinde Sena at the rally. The Congress will be raising the issues of Central government’s refusal to declare a JPC probe into the Gautam Adani row, and the suspension of Rahul Gandhi as MP.

“We as a party support the JPC. But there is a second angle to it. The Chief Justice of India has ordered a five-member expert committee to report on (the Adani issue). When the CJI has directed this, it needs to be taken into consideration too”, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said at a press conference Saturday.

Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said: “The state is seeing one of its worst governments. It wants to bully the Opposition and its people. But we will not allow it. Sunday’s rally will show that people stand with us.”

In the riots and arson that took place in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’s Kiradpura area, one person was killed and several policemen were injured with property, including vehicles, damaged.

The special investigation team (SIT) formed by Sambhaji Nagar police commissioner Nikhil Gupta arrested four more accused in the rioting case, Imran Khan Bismillah Khan, Syed Kalim Syed Salim, Karim Salim Shaikh and Anwar Khan Kadar Khan, and presented them before the court, which remanded them to police custody till April 3. The total number of arrests in the case has reached 12.