Vidhan Bhavan Altercation: A Blow to Maharashtra's Political Image

The intense altercation between the supporters of MLAs at the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan last week, involving insults towards each other's families and tearing of clothes, has brought embarrassment to the entire state. People are questioning how supporters or workers could behave in such a manner, likening them to a gang of hooligans. The two individuals primarily blamed for the incident have questionable backgrounds. Nitin Deshmukh, a supporter of Nationalist Congress (Sharad Pawar faction) MLA Jitendra Awhad, and Sarjerao Baban Takle, a supporter of BJP MLA Gopichand Padalkar, both have multiple cases against them. Takle has already faced action under the anti-slum lords law. The major concern is how these individuals and others were allowed entry into the Vidhan Bhavan, especially since Takle did not possess a Vidhan Bhavan pass.

This is a serious matter of security lapse. After the terrorist attack on Parliament, the whole country is thinking that the security arrangements in Vidhan Bhavans will be so tight that no person can enter the Vidhan Bhavan without a pass! But this incident has given rise to new concerns. There is even talk that passes are available for five to ten thousand rupees. Is this really so? Now one side is saying that this incident happened suddenly while the other side is saying that the incident was well planned. It does not matter to me or anyone as to who was prepared, who hit whom more, who abused more or whose supporters' clothes were torn more. The matter of concern is where is Maharashtra's politics going? Before this, there have been sharp debates inside the Vidhan Bhavan. There have been a lot of uproars, paper weights have also been thrown but those were small incidents. The kind of incident that just happened in the Vidhan Bhavan premises has never happened before, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has rightly said that our heads have bowed down in shame due to this incident. Such incidents have been happening in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, but our Maharashtra was untouched by it. Where did this disease come from?

However, the Speaker of the Assembly Rahul Narvekar has reprimanded the MLAs and has also taken a big decision that now visitors will not be allowed in the Vidhan Bhavan. Not only this, the ministers have also been instructed that they will not hold any meeting in the Vidhan Bhavan. They should hold their meetings in the ministry only, but the question is not only about the Vidhan Bhavan. The question is about the changing nature of Maharashtra's politics, we have been proud of the purity of politics in Maharashtra. I travel all over the country, travel abroad and also talk proudly about the political purity of Maharashtra, but with what face will I talk about political purity now? I have a doubt in my mind whether the dark shadow of criminal thinking has fallen on our politics? Some people with dominance in politics may feel bad about what I say, but who can deny the truth that like other states of the country, politics here is also becoming a victim of crime. When I was analyzing the data of the Election Commission, I was surprised to read that out of 286 MLAs of the Assembly, criminal cases are registered against 118. If we talk holistically, then no single party can be blamed for the criminalization of politics.

All parties in politics do fifty types of activities and the only objective of all activities is to win as many seats as possible. If one wants to remain at the pinnacle of power, then even if a person who has the ability to win has a criminal background, he will be given a ticket. Sam-Daam-Dand-Bhed has become the form of politics. All political parties ignore the activities of criminal elements, no action is taken against them. Many MLAs do not even care about what the new generation will learn from their conduct. Just look at the case of Sanjay Gaikwad, how badly he beat up a person in the canteen. I agree that the food must not have been cooked properly, but there is a House Committee for complaints, who gave them the right to take the law in their hands?

The reality is that in politics, simple and dedicated workers have been replaced by those who have the ability to beat up people without any fear. Leaders who have bullying in their blood, keep such goons and their shamelessness is such that some leaders even say that they keep goons with them so that they can change their minds. But I believe that if politics does not control the army of goons in time, then these goons will make politics their slave. As long as the army of goons keeps growing in the name of workers, we will keep feeling ashamed.