BJP protests against Minister Sarnaik in Mira-Bhayandar; Sena women show mirrors, some detained

The BJP staged protests at two places in Mira-Bhayandar on Monday against the alleged corruption of Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik. A public agitation was held at Navghar Naka at around 4 pm and at Mira Road at 6 pm. BJP office-bearers demanded that Sarnaik resign as minister.

The BJP district president, the deputy mayor, corporators, office-bearers and workers took part. The party alleged irregularities in land dealings, cheating of people in the name of development, and corruption in various development works. It also levelled allegations of irregularities against Shiv Sena office-bearers and placed a list of the charges before the public. The BJP's stand was that raising a voice against injustice is the responsibility of citizens and that the agitation would continue in a democratic manner.

The issues raised by the BJP include the alleged encroachment on tribal land at Chena village, alleged irregularity in the sale and purchase of a plot reserved for a school opposite the court, and a land dispute involving Agri-Koli sons of the soil at Bhayandar Pada. The party also raised alleged financial irregularities in the cycle track work in the JP North area, and irregularities in the allotment of permits and auto-rickshaw badges in the Transport Department. It further alleged corruption in the work on the art gallery named after Balasaheb Thackeray and in development works on civic body reserved plots.

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena women's wing responded to the BJP protest in a different way. While the protest was under way, Sena women office-bearers held up mirrors before BJP leaders to oppose their allegations. Their message was that people should look at their own faces before pointing fingers at others. This created an atmosphere of political tension between BJP and Shiv Sena workers in the Navghar Naka area.

The Sena women's wing alleges that Navghar police pushed and shoved women office-bearers who were registering their protest peacefully. The Shiv Sena also alleges that they were beaten with sticks and detained in a police van. When women office-bearers, including Shiv Sena district coordinator Nisha Narvekar, were detained, Shiv Sainiks gathered outside Navghar police station and staged a sit-in. Calling the police role one-sided, the women's wing protested against the action.

Nisha Narvekar said BJP leaders were agitating against Minister Pratap Sarnaik to divert attention from the allegations against themselves. According to her, the BJP's agitation had been answered in a democratic manner by showing mirrors, yet the police detained the women office-bearers in an attempt to suppress their voice. She warned that the Shiv Sena's voice would not be silenced by police action and that the party would continue its struggle in its own way against the BJP's alleged corruption and the police's partisan role.

The BJP's allegations and the Sena women's wing's response have heated up the political atmosphere in Mira-Bhayandar. The city is now watching how Sarnaik responds to the BJP's allegations and how the police administration explains its role in the detention of the women office-bearers.