Pune bandh was marred by stray incidents of violence in which protesters damaged 30 buses of Pune Minicipal Transport were damaged . The bandh call was given by saffron Shiv Sena-BJP alliance and supported by MNS, to protest against the removal of Dadoji Konddev statue from historic Lal Mahal by Pune Municipal Corporation on Monday. However, the response was quite lukewarm as shops and establishments function quite normally in most of the city. Police sources told Business Standard that over 150 activisits of Sena-BJP and MNS were taken into custody for causing damage to the public property. Adequate police bandobast was deployed in the city and adjoining areas to avoid untoward incidents during bandh.
Sources said that corporators of saffron parties, legislators and MPs staged dharna at different places. They were immediately picked up by the police.Shiv Sena has demanded that the statue be re installed at the Lal Mahal while MNS has threatened to launch an agitation in this regard. On the other hand, BJP has hit out against the deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar who the party claimed was a brain behind the Pune Municipal Corporation’s move to remove statue from the Lal Mahal.
However, the chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has declined to intervene in the matter citing that it was in the domain of Pune Municipal Corporation.
