Tushar Gandhi has criticised the Maharashtra government after he, his daughter and approximately 600 protesters were detained ahead of a planned demonstration at Mumbai’s August Kranti Maidan, saying the agitation would continue despite restrictions on protests.
Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi’s great-grandson, made the remarks at a press conference at his home on Sunday. The protest was organised in support of the Cockroach Janta Party’s agitation seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
According to the Indian Express report, Gandhi said the case should have been registered only against him and described his detention as a mark of honour. “They have placed me among the ranks of satyagrahis. I thank Devendra Fadnavis,” he said, referring to the Maharashtra Chief Minister.
The reported detentions took place before the planned gathering at August Kranti Maidan, a public space associated with Mumbai’s freedom movement and civic demonstrations. The incident has brought renewed attention to how permissions, police deployment and restrictions are managed when political groups seek to hold protests in the city.
Gandhi alleged that the government was using the police machinery to suppress citizens because it feared the movement. He also accused the police of acting at the direction of those in power, describing the force as being controlled by the ruling establishment. These were Gandhi’s allegations, and the report did not include a response from the Maharashtra government or Mumbai Police to those claims.
He said the agitation would continue until what he called the Bharatiya Janata Party’s “double-engine government” was removed from power. Gandhi rejected the criticism that the movement was anarchic, arguing that the protestors were conducting themselves in a disciplined manner.
Gandhi also urged the courts to direct the police to maintain peace rather than restrict the demonstration. Comparing the present protest with the freedom struggle, he asked whether Mahatma Gandhi and Bhagat Singh would have sought official permission before organising movements against British rule.
The reported episode places the administration’s handling of public demonstrations at the centre of the dispute. For residents, the immediate issue is how access to a major public gathering space is regulated, what conditions are imposed on assemblies and how authorities balance public order with the right to protest. The available report does not specify the legal provisions used for the detentions, the duration of custody or whether formal cases were registered against the protesters.
Gandhi said the agitation would continue. Further developments will depend on the police and government’s response, as well as any directions issued by the courts on the proposed demonstrations.
