MUMBAI: Shiv Sena minister Abdul Sattar sparked a controversy on Thursday as a video of him asking the police to lathi-charge and “break the bones” of people present at an event organised on his birthday in his constituency of Sillod in Chhhatrapati Sambhajinagar district went viral.
The incident took place on Wednesday evening during folk dancer Gautami Patil’s performance on the occasion of Sattar’s birthday.
Locals said that soon after the performance began, some youngsters in the crowd beneath the dais began creating a ruckus and heckling, forcing stoppage of the show. Sattar then climbed on to the dais with a microphone and ordered the police to carry out a lathi-charge, which the police did.
Sattar was seen in the video saying, “Listen to me policemen, lathi-charge the people sitting behind. Beat them so badly that their backs break. Beat them…now.” Addressing one youth, he said, “Has even your father seen such a programme?” Then he went on, “You all are demons, you don’t know how to behave like humans… I know who has sent those who are creating a ruckus. Beat them, beat them like dogs and put them in the lock-up. You will be booked and won’t even get bail.”
The opposition criticised the Sena minister, and the Congress demanded chief minister Eknath Shinde should take action against Sattar, who is the state’s minority development minister. Sattar is also guardian minister for Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
After drawing flak, Sattar on Thursday expressed regret over his language but maintained that people had been sent to the event by opposition parties to disrupt it.
He said, “There was a La vani performance, and over 60,000 people came. In this crowd were some opposition party workers who had come to create a ruckus and damage the event. This was a conspiracy by 20-25 people, so I used our rural language to control them. If this has hurt anyone, I express regret. But there were women and children… The situation was so grave that I had to resort to such language. This was only done to control the situation, and we have events for another week. I once again express regret over the language used.”
The incident took place on Wednesday evening during folk dancer Gautami Patil’s performance on the occasion of Sattar’s birthday.
Locals said that soon after the performance began, some youngsters in the crowd beneath the dais began creating a ruckus and heckling, forcing stoppage of the show. Sattar then climbed on to the dais with a microphone and ordered the police to carry out a lathi-charge, which the police did.
Sattar was seen in the video saying, “Listen to me policemen, lathi-charge the people sitting behind. Beat them so badly that their backs break. Beat them…now.” Addressing one youth, he said, “Has even your father seen such a programme?” Then he went on, “You all are demons, you don’t know how to behave like humans… I know who has sent those who are creating a ruckus. Beat them, beat them like dogs and put them in the lock-up. You will be booked and won’t even get bail.”
The opposition criticised the Sena minister, and the Congress demanded chief minister Eknath Shinde should take action against Sattar, who is the state’s minority development minister. Sattar is also guardian minister for Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
After drawing flak, Sattar on Thursday expressed regret over his language but maintained that people had been sent to the event by opposition parties to disrupt it.
He said, “There was a La vani performance, and over 60,000 people came. In this crowd were some opposition party workers who had come to create a ruckus and damage the event. This was a conspiracy by 20-25 people, so I used our rural language to control them. If this has hurt anyone, I express regret. But there were women and children… The situation was so grave that I had to resort to such language. This was only done to control the situation, and we have events for another week. I once again express regret over the language used.”
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