MVA’s ‘Lungi-Baniyan’ Protest Targets Sena MLA Assault

• MVA legislators protested outside Maharashtra Assembly wearing lungis and baniyans.

• Protest condemned Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad’s assault on a canteen worker.

• Video showed Gaikwad slapping and punching the staff over stale food.

GG News Bureau
Mumbai, 17th July: In a dramatic display of dissent, opposition legislators from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) staged a unique ‘lungi-baniyan’ protest outside the Maharashtra Assembly on Wednesday, condemning the assault of a hostel canteen employee by Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad and the state government’s inaction on the matter.

Leaders from Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) wore towels as lungis and vests over their regular clothes, holding placards that read “We condemn the chaddi-baniyan gang” and denouncing the “goonda raj” allegedly prevailing under the ruling alliance.

Prominent faces in the protest included Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Ambadas Danve and NCP(SP) leader Jitendra Awhad. Addressing the media, Danve said, “The assault by the MLA shows the government is protecting such elements.” He demanded swift action against Gaikwad and accused the state of shielding criminal behaviour.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sachin Ahir slammed the administration’s response, calling the non-cognisable complaint against Gaikwad an “eyewash.” “The image of Maharashtra’s MLAs has been tarnished. An FIR must be lodged. Eknath Shinde’s warnings are nothing but lip service,” he said.

The protest comes after a video emerged last week showing Sanjay Gaikwad, MLA from Buldhana, slapping and punching Yogesh Kutran, an employee of the Akashvani MLA hostel in Churchgate. Gaikwad was reportedly enraged over being served stale dal and rice and stormed into the canteen to confront the staff.

Despite public outrage and demands for accountability, Gaikwad has remained defiant. In a televised interview, he claimed he assaulted the canteen manager, not the staffer, and insisted, “I knew the road I adopted was incorrect, but it led to the right path. The canteen’s licence has now been cancelled.”

He added that he had received numerous complaints from other MLAs and aides about the quality of food, and his action had finally prompted a response from authorities.

Fueling further controversy, Gaikwad made inflammatory remarks during a media interaction, blaming the Shetty community from coastal Karnataka for “defaming” Maharashtra’s culture. “These Shettys have ruined our culture with dance bars and ladies bars. They have been playing with people’s lives,” he alleged, claiming long-standing health issues due to poor food.

Gaikwad walked out of the interview after being questioned over his comments, further intensifying the backlash. Civil society groups, opposition parties, and several activists have demanded action under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act and hate speech laws, citing caste and regional profiling in his remarks.

While the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has reportedly cancelled the hostel canteen’s licence, pressure is mounting on the Eknath Shinde-led government to initiate legal proceedings against Gaikwad.