With the Maratha quota agitation bringing South Mumbai to a grinding halt for five consecutive days, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) MP Milind Deora has written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis urging the state government to prohibit or relocate such demonstrations from the city’s high-security and high-functioning zones.
Deora, in his letter, stressed that while peaceful protest is an integral part of democracy, it should not cripple a state’s political and financial nerve centre.
“I am writing to you with deep concern regarding the frequent protests and large gatherings at Azad Maidan and other venues in South Mumbai. While the right to protest is an essential democratic freedom, it must be balanced with the rights of ordinary citizens to live and work without disruption,” the letter stated.
“No capital city in the world permits its core institutions of governance, security, and economy to be repeatedly crippled by protests. While peaceful demonstrations are integral to democracy, their location and scale must not undermine the functioning of government, municipal administration, security forces, or the private sector,” it added.
Deora, in his letter, also said that South Mumbai is not only the heart of our state’s governance, but also its political and economic nerve centre.
“It houses the Maharashtra Government Secretariat (Mantralaya), the Vidhan Sabha, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters, the offices of the Mumbai and Maharashtra Police, as well as the Western Naval Command. It is also the hub of financial institutions, corporate headquarters, and vital infrastructure on which millions depend every day,” he wrote.
Furthermore, Deora argued that prohibiting such future protests “will ensure that citizens’ rights are protected, governance remains uninterrupted, and Mumbai continues to function as the undisputed financial and political capital of Maharashtra and India”.
The Rajya Sabha MP’s letter came against the backdrop of the massive Maratha quota protest led by activist Manoj Jarange at Azad Maidan.
Jarange began his indefinite fast on August 29 and called it off on Tuesday afternoon after the state government accepted most of his demands, including issuing Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Marathas, paving the way for their inclusion in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota.
During the stir, thousands of protesters from across the state descended on South Mumbai. Azad Maidan, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), and the area around the BMC headquarters turned into camping sites, with demonstrators cooking, eating, sleeping, and even bathing on pavements and roads.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation later said it collected more than 125 metric tonnes of garbage from Azad Maidan and surrounding areas in the five-day agitation.
Mumbai Police, meanwhile, registered nine cases across six police stations against Maratha quota protesters for alleged unlawful assembly, disobedience of lawful orders, and wrongful restraint.
– Ends