New Delhi, Oct 5 (PTI) The Congress on Monday labelled the BJP-led Maharashtra government “anti-tribal” after police allegedly detained tribal students who had come to Mumbai to stage a protest seeking the resignation of the state tribal development minister.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge, communications, Jairam Ramesh said, “Shame on the so-called double engine government in Maharashtra which is clearly Adivasi-virodhi.”
Earlier, 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 and detained them. 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 from Nashik to seek the resignation of the tribal development minister for failing to address their issues.
The Congress said it stands with the “tribal students in their fight for legitimate rights”, asserting that their voices cannot be silenced through threats.
“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.
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.
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. PTI ASK KSI
KSI
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