A PIL was filed in the Bombay High Court seeking criminal action against NCP leader Madhukar Pichad for allegedly instigating party workers to assault members of ‘Yaswant Sena’ who had recently protested against his remarks against Dhangar (shepherd) community.
Yashwant Sena is a social organisation which claims to fight for economic, social, and political rights of Dhangar community.
The public interest litigation (PIL) filed by activist Hemant Patil, is slated to come up for hearing next week, high court sources said.
The petitioner submitted that he had taken out a morcha on August 1 in Mumbai demanding reservation for members of Dhangar community.
However, Pichad reacted to the morcha, saying “if the government allows reservation for Dhangar community, then Adivasi community would turn naxalites or terrorists,” the petition said, noting that such utterances were anti-national, unconstitutional and amounted to criminal offence under IPC.
In order to protest against Pichad’s remarks, members of Yashwant Sena had barged into the NCP office in Mumbai on August 12. However, members of NCP and Sena clashed and in the melee some of the Yashwant Sena members were assaulted, the PIL alleged.
The PIL prayed for a direction to the state government and the Mumbai Police Chief to initiate criminal action against Pichad and party workers for assaulting people who were agitating against the ex-minister’s alleged remarks.
