A march that saw thousands of people led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) took place in Maharashtra’s Palghar. It was ccarried out from Comrade Godavari Shamrao Parulekar Bhawan to the Talasari Tehsil Office and Talasari Police Station. After the march, the protestors even occupied the entire Tehsil office and police station in a gherao.
Protesters have condemned the BJP and the police, and have alleged that there is a nexus between the two. They have also accused the two of allegedly attacking and targetting CPI(M) activists, and lodging false cases against them, encroaching on their land, as well as of inciting violence in Talasari and Dahanu tehsils.
The activists were reportedly on the receiving end of harassment for a while but, according to them, the matter crossed the limit for them when the BJP supporters built an allegedly illegal hut on the land of Sunita Shingda, who is the Chairperson of the Talasari Tehsil Panchayat Samiti and a Central Executive Committee Member of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA).
The delegation from the rally went ahead and met the Tahsildar and the Police Inspector, relaying their concerns and demanding solid action The officials agreed to the demands and have reportedly provided a timeframe for their implementation.
Key leaders in the protest included Dr. Ashok Dhawale, MLA Vinod Nikole, Mariam Dhawale, Kisan Gujar etc.
The CPI(M)’s MLA Vinod Nikole currently holds the Dahanu assembly seat, which it has won nine out of ten times since 1978. The seat is a Scheduled Tribe reserve seat.
Similarly, after the Lok Sabha elections, the Maharashtra State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) compiled a detailed report on voter turnout and had raised concerns about an unexplained increase in votes in the Dhule constituency of Maharashtra. According to them, the number of registered voters in Dhule had increased by over 85,000 within a span of just 24 hours.
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Haldwani Violence: Cautioning police against overreach CPI-M delegation demands independent inquiry