Shrikant Shinde, the Member of Parliament from Kalyan and the son of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has penned a letter to the Thane police commissioner, expressing his objections to the unilateral decision by the police to divert traffic in their residential area, a move he said has drawn criticism to the Shinde family.
Subsequent to the issuance of the letter, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic, revoked the circular on Wednesday night. Police have stepped up security outside the private residence of the chief minister in Loiuswadi area in Thane city in view of the protests by Maratha community members for quota in various parts of the state. Shrikant Shinde emphasized that the decision to divert traffic outside their residential building was made without consulting them. Furthermore, he emphasized in the letter that they have no intention of causing any inconvenience to the city's residents.
The traffic wing of the Thane Police has issued a circular on Wednesday for traffic changes in Louiswadi area where our Shubhdeep building which is the residence of the Chief Minister is located. The changes are proposed for the family members of the Chief Minister. My name is also mentioned in it though neither I nor my family made any such request or suggestion to change the traffic in our residential area. Also, we were not given any forewarning before issuing the notification in such a manner, he stated.
Due to the circular issued by the police, our family is being defamed in media and social media, the MP said. It is the fault of the police and we are being criticised for the same and it has resulted in a very irritating situation. We have no right to block the road of common people. We do not accept the VIP culture at all, he said.
Shrinkant Shinde called up the DCP and categorically told him that any such notification which would trouble the citizens was not acceptable. Hence the notification was being cancelled, the DCP (traffic) stated.