Pune: Political tensions escalated in Pune as a large group of Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leaders assembled outside the residence of Pune Congress City President Arvind Shinde.
This gathering came in response to a planned protest by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) youth wing, further intensifying the political climate in the city.
Earlier in the day, Congress MLA Ravindra Dhangekar arrived at Shinde’s residence, followed closely by other prominent Congress leaders and NCP officials.
The gathering of party workers and leaders soon grew in size, prompting local police to step in and deploy security forces to maintain order.
The backdrop to this confrontation was the recent arrest of Pune Youth Congress President Amol Londhe. Londhe was taken into custody for allegedly raping a sixth-grade student from a private school in Chandrapur’s Korapana Taluka. The arrest has led to a surge in political agitation, with BJP launching protests at multiple locations across the state.
In Pune, BJP youth wing members had planned a protest outside Arvind Shinde’s residence. The protest was widely promoted through WhatsApp messages, which quickly went viral. In response, Congress workers mobilized, deciding to meet the protest with a counter-demonstration.
By evening, senior Congress and NCP leaders had gathered in large numbers at Shinde’s residence. Among the notable attendees were Congress MLA Ravindra Dhangekar, leaders Avinash Bagwe and Sangeeta Tiwari, and NCP officials Sachin Taware and Nitin Kadam.
The leaders held a sit-in protest, setting up chairs outside Shinde’s house in anticipation of the BJP youth wing’s planned agitation.
Recognizing the potential for conflict, the police cordoned off all roads leading to Shinde’s residence and deployed additional personnel. Meanwhile, the BJP youth wing’s protest took place at Sadhu Vaswani Chowk, where it was quickly contained by the police, preventing it from moving further toward Shinde’s residence.
Speaking to the media, Arvind Shinde expressed concern over the changing nature of political protests. "Political culture in the state is deteriorating," he said.
"Protests used to be civil and would not reach people's homes. But now, BJP is bringing protests directly to our doorsteps. Congress will respond in kind, and in the future, we will also protest outside the homes of BJP leaders rather than at public squares or government offices."