In response to the inflation and the soaring prices of petrol and diesel, Congress had declared a ‘Bharat Band’ on September 10. The protests were supposed to be peaceful but in some areas, it took a violent turn and its repercussions resulted in destruction of public property.
Congress called the protest a ‘100 per cent successful’ one. After the ‘Bharat Band’ was called off at around 3:00 pm, Maharashtra Congress President Ashok Chavan congratulated all the Congress leaders and expressed his thanks to the party workers. Along with the state president of the party, Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam too was present while addressing the press.
Taking a dig at Shiv Sena, Chavan said, “Shiv Sena not getting involved signifies how helpless the party becomes in front of the ‘authority’. Today the party’s reality has been exposed.”
The senior politician also claimed that there was no violence during the entire protest and differentiated the same by comparing it to Shiv Sena’s violent way of protesting. He also took a dig at Sena MP Sanjay Raut and said that according to him, Congress has woken up after a long time but the party has been awake all the time.
Meanwhile, Nirupam said that even without the support of Shiv Sena, the protest was 100 per cent successful. More than 22 opposition parties had extended their support towards the Bharat Bandh. On the other hand, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has blamed Congress for “inciting negative thinking among the people”.