Bharatiya Janata Party

BJP

Jagdish Mulik

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vada pav

On Tuesday, the’s (BJP) city unit had organised a protest against the state government as a part of its state-wide agitation. In a bid to gather crowd, the leaders allegedly ended up paying people to bring them in. Majority of the gathered crowd was seemingly clueless about the protest and the issues being raised.leaders have, however, refuted the allegations levelled at them.The said protests were staged across the state on February 25, where issues relating to farmer’s loan waiver, atrocities against women and rolling back the decisions taken by the government were raised.In Pune, party workers from all six constituencies in the city assembled at Balgandharva Chowk on Jangli Maharaj (JM) Road. Leaders such as Mayor Murlidhar Mohol, BJP city president, leader of the civic body’s house Dhiraj Ghate, former MLA Medha Kulkarni and former minister Dilip Kamble were present at the protest site. A structure was erected along a footpath on JM Road especially for the protest. Carpets were rolled out near the chowk to make arrangements for the protesters to sit. To ensure that the gathered crowd does not cause a traffic jam, the protesters were split constituency-wise across the chowk. Sloganeering and speeches were at their peak as well.Present among these protesters were a bunch of clueless people who did not know why they were there. These ‘protesters’ were brought in by the corporators from various parts of the city. Deepali Patole, a resident of Sinhagad Road, had come with her children. Speaking to Mirror, she claimed that she was there because another woman from her area had asked her to accompany her. “Our corporator Prasanna Jagtap told us to come here. Therefore, we have come with a woman from my area. We are told that we will get some money,” she said.Rajurbai Kamble, a resident of Kamgar Vasti, said, “Karyakartas from my area asked me to join the event. They said they will pay me Rs 100. However, I have only received aeven after sitting in the scorching sun. I didn’t even get water. I don’t know if I will get the money I was promised.”Shobha Sonawane, another resident from the same vasti, said, “I came here because Ashok Lokhande, a leader from our area, asked us to show up. Our houses are going to be taken away for Metro work. We haven’t been told about the relocation yet. I came because I thought they will discuss the matter.”Rajendra Dhawale, yet another man gathered at the event, claimed that he was aware of the protest, but could not give a satisfactory explanation when asked to do so. Although he claimed that he works for the party, he said that he had come because he was told that he would be paid for turning up. He said, “I work on daily wages. Almost 50 to 60 people from my vasti have come here. I am not entirely aware of the issues at hand, but we have been handed out pamphlets highlighting the concerns. Moreover, I was promised a certain amount in return of my presence. That’s why I showed up and skipped my day’s work.”BJP leaders have categorically refuted the allegations and claimed that these were mere attempts to malign their image. Speaking to Mirror, Jagtap said, “I don’t know who these people were who feigned ignorance. I had just informed 100 to 150 party workers from my constituency to show up for the protest. The question of paying party members doesn’t even arise. I don’t know what they people were talking about.”