Nalasopara: A video showing Ashok Shelke, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) group leader in the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC), allegedly assaulting a street vendor has gone viral on social media.
Drive Details
The incident took place during a drive titled 'Maza Prabhag, Mazi Jababdari' (My Ward, My Responsibility), which Shelke and his party workers conducted against unauthorized street vendors in the D-Mart area of Nalasopara East (Ward No. 22).
According to the victims, the drive took a violent turn when Shelke and 10 to 20 BJP workers suddenly arrived at the 'Khau Galli' (food street). The victims alleged that their food stall was completely overturned, and the vendor, his friend, and even standing customers were brutally assaulted without provocation.
Vendor's First Question
"We regularly pay our daily taxes/receipts to the Municipal Corporation without a single day's delay. Why are we being subjected to this injustice?" questioned one of the affected vendors.
Another senior vendor, speaking to the media with deep emotion and anger, shared his plight:
"I have been running my business here for the last 17 years on the roadside without causing trouble to anyone. My wife is specially-abled (disabled), and I hold a valid license from the Maharashtra Government. We have even taken a loan under the PM SVANidhi scheme and pay our installments on time. If our stalls are destroyed and we are beaten up, how will we repay the loan? How will we feed our children? Do we not have the right to live with dignity?"
The senior vendor further expressed his political disillusionment, stating, "I am a die-hard BJP supporter myself. We believe in the policies of PM Narendra Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath. However, at the local level, people from the BJP itself are wearing the lotus symbol, committing atrocities against the poor, women, and the disabled, thereby defaming the party's name."
Defending his actions, BJP leader Ashok Shelke stated that local residents were facing immense trouble due to the massive influx of street vendors.
Shelke stated
Around 150 commercial gas cylinders were operating within a mere 100-meter radius, posing a massive safety risk.The road was so heavily congested that even an ambulance could not pass through. He alleged that the vendors frequently harass women and obstruct municipal corporations whenever official action is initiated.
Shelke admitted to the physical altercation, claiming it was a defense mechanism. "A street vendor assaulted one of our party workers. What happened next was an immediate 'action to reaction' from my end," Shelke stated.
The incident has sparked intense tension in the Nalasopara area, with local vendors voicing their grievances and anger before the media, demanding justice.
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