Mumbai: Congress leaders booked for holding protest near Mantralaya

Several senior state Congress leaders along with 150-200 party workers have been booked by Marine Drive police for staging a protest on Wednesday demanding an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "insulting" Maharashtra by suggesting that the state had encouraged the spread of COVID-19 in other states.

The leaders have been booked for not following social distancing norms amidst the pandemic along with sections of the Disaster Management act. The leaders who are booked include the party's state chief Nana Patole, Mumbai Regional Congress Committee chief Bhai Jagtap along with several others.

The Congress leaders and party workers conducted a protest near the Mahatma Gandhi statue near Mantralaya (state secretariat) on Wednesday demanding an apology from the PM. Protests were also held at several other places in the state especially outside BJP party offices in each district. The Congress leaders had also threatened to continue protests in the coming days until PM apologises. During a debate in the Lok Sabha on Monday Modi had said "What did Congress leaders do? They stood at railway stations in Mumbai and distributed free tickets to encourage them to leave Mumbai. They inspired people to leave so that the burden over Maharashtra could be lessened. You go to Uttar Pradesh, you go to Bihar. Go, spread Corona there. You committed this sin and created an atmosphere of chaos