Attack on Tiger Shroff: Calls for resignation of Devendra Fadnavis, prez rule

MUMBAI: The attack on Tiger Shroff on Sunday has prompted the Opposition to target the BJP-led government over the “deteriorating law and order” in the state. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, has come under fire.

The Opposition has united in its attack, with the Congress seeking Fadnavis’s resignation and the UBT Sena saying the state was a fit case for President’s Rule.

“The Maharashtra government is using its Home Ministry to go after political rivals, while the mafia and criminal groups in the state have a free run. There is already talk of regime change. Until then, the Governor should consider whether President’s Rule can be imposed in the state,” UBT MP Sanjay Raut said.


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Raut said the situation resembled the gang wars Mumbai witnessed in the 1990s.

State Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal said on social media that Fadnavis should resign. “This is not the only incident. There have been other incidents, such as the recent shootings of Baba Siddique and Pradeep Purnekar,” Sapkal said.

Facing criticism, Fadnavis assured people there was no reason to be afraid. “I would like to assure everyone that the Mumbai Police is a professional force. It has demonstrated time and again that criminals involved in such offences cannot escape without being tracked down and apprehended. Action will certainly be taken in this case as well. There is no reason for anyone to be afraid,” the chief minister said.

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“In the past too, when these people attempted something similar, the Mumbai Police tracked down the accused and identified the masterminds behind them. Such incidents will not be tolerated under any circumstances.”

Fadnavis hit back at Raut, pointing out that during the MVA government, when Uddhav Thackeray was chief minister, a police officer had planted a bomb near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence.

It is not just the Opposition raising concerns. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who visited Shroff on Sunday to inquire about his condition, appeared to favour a tough response, saying that “a bullet has to be answered with abullet” — a possible reference to police encounters.

Significantly, encounters had made a comeback during Shinde’s tenure as chief minister, with the shooting of an accused in a sexual assault case. Fadnavis, however, has so far been reluctant to adopt the encounter policy.