The Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party have called for a shutdown in Pune on Tuesday to protest the removal of the statue. Angry municipal councilors from the saffron alliance went on a rampage during a meeting at the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) hall on Monday damaging microphones, throwing chairs and breaking tables.
Prior to the meeting, the saffron alliance councilors took out a rally from the Lal Mahal. Mayor Rajpal Singh, anticipating trouble at the municipal meeting over the removal of the statue, adjourned the proceedings in the house as soon as it began. This move of the mayor antagonized the Sena and BJP councilors.
SS-BJP councilors at the outset damaged the mayor's podium and the sound system in the house and then ransacked the hall.
They later broke into the mayor's office in the PMC and damaged furniture.
The statue issue has snowballed into a big controversy and it is feared that the shutdown called by the Sena and the BJP on Tuesday may lead to violence.
The statue was removed early Monday morning by PMC officials in the presence of police. SS-BJP supporters, who got wind of the plan, had gathered outside the Lal Mahal before the statue could be removed. Civic officials had to chase away the crowd with the help of police before removing the statue. PMC Commissioner Mahesh Zagade was in Mumbai when the violence took place at the PMC hall.
