WATCH: Thousands Join VBA Protest March In Pune; Traffic Hit As Maharashtra Bandh Call Echoes Across City

Pune: Thousands of students, citizens and workers of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) took part in a protest march across Pune on Thursday in response to the statewide Maharashtra Bandh called by VBA president Adv. Prakash Ambedkar. The bandh was called to protest the alleged police action against students demonstrating at Delhi's Jantar Mantar and to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

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The march began at around 10 am after leaders and workers paid floral tributes to the statue of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj at Deccan. Carrying the Indian tricolour and raising slogans against the Centre, protesters marched through Laxmi Road and Bhawani Peth before concluding at the statue of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar near Pune Railway Station.

As the procession moved through Bhide Wada and Shivaji Road, protesters appealed to shopkeepers to voluntarily shut their establishments in support of the bandh. VBA had also urged parents not to send their children to schools and colleges for the day. Party leaders claimed that more than 30 organisations, including student groups, social organisations, traders and like-minded political parties, had extended support to the protest.

Meanwhile, VBA workers staged a road blockade near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Kothrud, disrupting traffic on the busy stretch. Activists sat on the road, waved party flags and raised slogans against the alleged police action on students in Delhi, leading to traffic congestion and delays for commuters.

VBA Pune city president Adv. Arvind Tayde said the protest had received a positive response from citizens, with several organisations participating in the agitation. Youth wing city president Sagar Alhat also appealed to Pune residents to support the bandh in solidarity with the protesting students.

The protesters alleged that the police action at Jantar Mantar was an attack on democratic dissent and demanded accountability from the central government. They claimed the students had been protesting peacefully and accused the authorities of trying to suppress their voices.

Pune Police deployed additional personnel at key locations, including Kothrud and along the protest route, to maintain law and order. No untoward incidents had been reported till the filing of this report. However, traffic movement remained affected in several parts of the city due to the demonstrations.