On Saturday, Nana Patole, president of the Maharashtra Congress, said that police in Jalna attacked protesters calling for Maratha reservation with a lathe in order to divert attention away from the INDIA bloc meeting.
Talking to reporters, Patole claimed even women and children were not spared, causing injuries to many. Jalna incident was carried out to divert the attention from the INDIA alliance meeting. This was done so that the positive message about the meeting does not go to other parts of the country, Patole claimed.
The police cannot dare to do so without the order from the government, the Congress leader added. The two-day meeting of the INDIA alliance was held at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Mumbai on Thursday and Friday and was attended by 63 representatives from 28 opposition parties.
Police baton charged and lobbed tear gas shells on Friday to disperse protesters in Antarwali Sarathi on Dhule-Solapur road in Jalna's Ambad tehsil after they allegedly refused to let authorities shift a man on hunger strike for Maratha quota to hospital, according to officials.