MPSC students protesting under the S. M. Joshi Bridge in Pune opposed actor and Shiv Sena leader Dipali Sayyed when she began speaking at the demonstration, creating a tense situation at the site on October 9. The students have continued their protest for nine days, saying their demands have not yet been accepted.
Sayyed visited the protest site to express support for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission students. She said she had come not as a political person but as an artist supporting the students’ demands. She also said that the demands would be fulfilled within two days, according to the report published by Lokmat – Pune.
During her remarks, Sayyed said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, whom she described as a lawyer, would provide justice to the students. She also assured the protesters that she would convey their concerns to Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The report does not specify which individual demands Sayyed referred to or cite an official government order confirming that they would be resolved within two days.
Some students objected when Sayyed began speaking and did not allow her to continue. The disagreement led to commotion at the protest location and briefly made the atmosphere tense. The episode highlights the difficulty political representatives and public figures can face when attempting to address a protest whose participants want their demands to remain central to the public discussion.
Student Vivekanand Patil intervened after the situation began to escalate. He appealed to the protesters to allow Sayyed an opportunity to put forward her views and thanked her for visiting the demonstration. Patil also said that no artist had visited the students during the days of the protest, according to the report.
Patil raised another concern during the intervention, saying that students had been called “urban Naxalists” during the protest. The report does not identify who used the term or provide an official response to the allegation. Patil said the students’ voice needed to reach the government and that their concerns should be conveyed to the authorities.
The protest is continuing under the S. M. Joshi Bridge, with the students maintaining that they will not withdraw until their demands are fulfilled. MLA Rohit Pawar has also joined the students at the protest, increasing attention on the demonstration among political and administrative circles in Pune.
The immediate issue for the protesters is whether any formal decision will follow the assurances made at the site. Sayyed’s stated two-day timeline had not resulted in a confirmed government decision in the material supplied for the report. The students are therefore continuing their protest while awaiting an official response to their demands.
