Congress workers vandalise party office in Pune after MLA denied berth

The damaged Congress party office seen in Bhor, Pune

Upset over their leader, three-time MLA Sangram Thopate not getting a cabinet berth in the Uddhav Thackeray-led government, Congress supporters vandalised the party office in Pune's Bhor constituency on Tuesday.

On Monday, condemning the Congress leadership for being corrupt, 20 corporators who support Thopte, tendered their resignation and staged a protest after the cabinet expansion. Thopate, the son of former Congress minister Anantrao Thopate, is a known Congress loyalist. After being denied a berth, Thopate and his family agitated on Monday. On Tuesday evening, around 20 to 30 members of the Youth Congress threw stones at the party office and vandalised it using bamboo sticks.

Protester Mahesh Thapare said, "Soon, Congress will be flushed out from Bhor. We and our leader have been loyal to Congress. Sangram won despite a Modi wave and was promised a cabinet ministerial berth." The protesters were later detained by Shivajinagar police. Thopate refused to comment.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates