Shiv Sena may have flexed its muscle to protest RInfra's proposed tariff hike, but the agitation had more political tones with Assembly elections approaching and the battle of the Thackeray cousins
Shiv Sena may have flexed its muscle to protest RInfra's proposed tariff hike, but the agitation had more political tones with Assembly elections approaching and the battle of the Thackeray cousins
The Shiv Sena expressed no remorse for its actions that resulted in damaged shops, burnt vehicles and pandemonium outside the Reliance Infrastructure Ltd (RInfra) office at Santacruz yesterday.
What's more, the party said that the agitation was carried out on the orders of Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray.
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CHAOS: Police lathi-charged the agitating mob outside Reliance Infrastructure Ltd office at Santacruz yesterday. |
With Assembly elections due in October, this looks like a serious attempt to project Uddhav as a bold and strong leader.
Shiv Sena activists went on a rampage to protest the proposed tariff hike by RInfra and in the process, brought traffic on the Western Express Highway (WEH) to a standstill for nearly an hour.
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At 11 am, senior leaders from the Shiv Sena led by Anil Parab met RInfra officials and demanded that they reduce power tariffs.
When Rinfra officials did not respond for three hours, the mob stationed outside the office began pelting stones to express their displeasure.
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Traffic had to be diverted from the WEH because of the agitating mob. The police had to use their lathis to disperse the protesters.
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Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena spokesperson, said, "We don't condemn the act. It started because of the lathi charge."
Milind Narvekar, Uddhav's personal assistant confirmed that the protests took place on the orders of the Shiv Sena executive president.
No change in tariffRInfra has proposed a hike of 30 per cent for residential consumers. "We have given the memorandum submitted by the Shiv Sena to the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC), who will decide whether it can be incorporated in our proposal," said a spokesperson from Rinfra.
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However, V P Raja, chairperson, MERC, told MiD DAY, "I don't know about today's incident. But no further changes can be made to the proposal submitted by power companies."
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MERC will make an announcement on the tariff hike next week. Rinfra provides electricity between Sion and Dahisar.
