Congress discontent out in the open in Maharashtra; MLA’s supporters vandalise party office

Sangram Thopat, three-time MLA from Bhor, was not inducted in the Cabinet

December 31, 2019 11:54 pm | Updated January 01, 2020 01:17 am IST - Pune

Shattered windows, broken furniture bear mute testimony to the vandalism by supporters of Sangram Thopate, MLA, at Congress Bhavan in Pune on Tuesday.

Shattered windows, broken furniture bear mute testimony to the vandalism by supporters of Sangram Thopate, MLA, at Congress Bhavan in Pune on Tuesday.

A day after the expansion of the Maharashtra Cabinet, supporters of three-time Congress MLA Sangram Thopate on Tuesday vandalised the Congress Bhavan office in Pune’s to express their ire against the party leaders for not inducting him in the ministry.

According to party sources, a group of 35-40 people barged into the Congress Bhavan (in the city’s Shivajinagar area) around 5.30 p.m. and destroyed the furniture, ripped party banners, and shouted slogans in support of Mr. Thopate.

Shards of glass, broken pieces of wood, and mangled furniture lay strewn across the floor following the attack.

“It appears to be a pre-planned attack. The group simply stormed the office and went about damaging everything in sight. Most of the chairs and glass-topped tables were smashed, so was a television set and office stationery. The Shivajinagar police have detained eight to ten people,” Pune City Congress general secretary Ramesh Iyer told The Hindu .

Mr. Iyer said that Pune Congress chief Ramesh Bagwe would decide on the future course of action.

“We will carry out a stern investigation into this affair... venting one’s spleen in this violent manner is intolerable and not in conformity with Congress party traditions. If indeed he (Mr. Thopate) is upset at not being given a Cabinet berth, then he ought to express his grievances to the party high command instead of destroying the Pune Congress party office, which had nothing to do with the decision of not including him in the Cabinet,” said Pune Congress president Ramesh Bagwe.

He said a complaint had been filed in the Shivajinagar police station.

Of the ten Congress leaders who took oath as Ministers on Monday, the party has not given any Cabinet representation for Pune, while inducting only two among them as Ministers of State from western Maharashtra.

The lack of representation for Pune has triggered strong discord among Mr. Thopate’s supporters, who were ardently hoping that the three-time MLA from Bhor would be given a cabinet berth.

On Monday too Mr. Thopate’s supporters had burnt Congress flex boards and expressed their ire against the party top brass while the swearing-in ceremony was on.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.