TNN
Mumbai, Jun 20: Although revenue minister Narayan Rane, who was on the dais at the rally addressed by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Thursday, pacified protesters who raised slogans against CM Vilasrao Deshmukh and indulged in violence, he claimed that they were not his supporters.
Hinting at the CM, he alleged that his detractors had stage-managed the incident. But there were no takers for this claim. In fact, soon after the meeting, Gurudas Kamat issued a statement demanding the “most stringent action against the leader who instigated the violence and indiscipline’’. Several Congress activists also took up the issue with Gandhi and demanded immediate action against Rane.
Denouncing the behaviour of the protesters, the CM’s camp said “goondaism has no place in the Congress and these tactics will boomerang’’.
AICC general secretary in charge of Maharashtra Margaret Alva said Rane’s supporters were upset that their leader was not allowed to speak. But a senior intelligence official said the revenue minister’s followers had come “well prepared to create trouble despite Sonia Gandhi’s presence’’.
Joint police commissioner (law and order) K L Prasad, who supervised security at the venue, said four persons had been detained. “Some of them are from the Konkan. We are interrogating them to find out who sent them to create trouble,’’ he said.