Case Filed Against Organisers of Maharashtra Opposition’s Protest Against Voter List

Mumbai: A day after the Opposition’s Satyacha Morcha in Mumbai, police on Sunday registered a case against the organisers for holding the protest without permission. In response, Opposition parties questioned whether the BJP had obtained permission for its mook morcha (silent protest). Senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sachin Ahir stated that the law should be equal for everyone and demanded that an FIR also be registered against the BJP.

A senior police officer informed that an FIR has been registered against MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar, Baban Mahadik, Arvind Gawade, Santosh Shinde, Baban Gharat,, Jaywant Naik among others for violation of prohibitory orders and violation of notified rules under section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and 37 (3) and 135 of Bombay Police Act at the Azad maidan police station. According to the police, the organisers did not obtain prior permission for holding the rally and processions.

Mr. Ahir, who also serves as a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC), alleged that the police neither accepted nor rejected the opposition’s application for the protest. Instead, they permitted the organisers to proceed and even allowed a stage to be set up for the gathering. “It is now a done deal. But the law should apply equally to everyone. Did the BJP obtain permission for its Mook Morcha (silent protest)? If not, why haven’t the police registered an FIR against its organisers? We demand that a similar case be filed against the BJP as well,” the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said.

The opposition parties organised ‘Satyacha Morcha’ to raise the issues of irregularities in voter lists and rectification of the same before going to election of local bodies in the state. To counter the Opposition’s protest, the Maharashtra BJP also held ‘mook morcha’ (silent march) at Girgaon Chowpatty. The protest was led by state BJP president Ravindra Chavan and saw participation from cabinet ministers Mangal Prabhat Lodha, Ashish Shelar, and Mumbai BJP chief Amit Satam.

NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar also questioned the move to file cases against the opposition’s protest, calling it an act of misuse of power. “If a case is filed because the “Satyacha Morcha” didn’t have permission, then did the BJP’s silent protest have permission? If not, why wasn’t a case filed against Ravindra Chavan? And if permission was granted for the silent march, then why was it denied for the Satyacha Morcha? So many such questions arise,” Mr Pawar asked in a post on X.