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Mumbai, Oct 31 (IANS) Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief Harsh Vardhan Sapkal on Friday alleged that he was being kept under police surveillance, claiming that plainclothes policemen had repeatedly entered his private residence without permission.
Sapkal, who lives in Sarvodaya Ashram in Mumbai’s Nana Chowk area, said the police are “constantly monitoring” his activities. He claimed that on Friday morning, a plainclothes policeman entered his bedroom for surveillance and questioning – the third such incident.
Sapkal told a press conference, “At around 8 in the morning, a policeman entered my bedroom and started interrogating me – asking if I was going to hold a press conference and whether journalists had come. When I asked why he came to my room and on whose orders, he said it was under instructions from senior officers and asked me to talk to him on the phone.”
Expressing concern over what he called “state-sponsored surveillance”, the Congress leader asked: “On whose orders are we being monitored? Is this action being taken on the instructions of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis?”
He accused the ruling BJP of systematically spying on opposition leaders.
Sapkal asserted, “This is part of the BJP’s trend of keeping an eye on its opponents – first Pegasus, then phone tapping, and now they have reached our bedrooms. But we will not bow down to such intimidation.”
Commenting on Wednesday’s hostage drama and the police encounter of Rohit Arya, Sapkal said that while it was important to save the children, “the way the incident was handled raises serious questions”.
Sapkal demanded, “When the NSG team was already present, why did the police shoot him dead? The man was reportedly mentally unstable, yet he had previously worked on government initiatives like Sunder Maji Shala (My Beautiful School) and had shared the stage with then Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar. This incident needs a thorough investigation.”
The MPCC chief also alleged political protection in the case of Dr Sampada Munde of Satara district, who allegedly died by suicide. “Due to the pressure, Dr Munde was forced to end his life – it was not suicide but murder. Former BJP MP Ranjit Singh Naik Nimbalkar has been named in the case. Despite his involvement in cases of kidnapping, extortion and assault, the state government gave him a clean chit without any investigation,” Sapkal alleged.
Sapkal said, “Criminal tendencies have flourished under Fadnavis and hooliganism of BJP leaders has increased. Fadnavis alone is responsible – he is the godfather of criminals.”
He further announced that an all-party march would be organized on 1 November against the Election Commission over alleged irregularities in the voter lists.
Sapkal said, “Irregularities in voter lists are a matter of grave concern. Rahul Gandhi was the first to highlight these discrepancies with evidence. Everyone demands that elections be conducted in a fair and transparent manner. Congress supports this march and our leaders and workers will participate in it.”
–IANS
SJ/PGH