 Pro-reservation activists protested against Rahul Bajaj at Ravindra Natya Mandir, the venue for the Marathwada Mitra award where Bajaj was being felicitated
Pics: Sameer MarkandePro-reservation activists disturbed a felicitation ceremony for Rahul Bajaj, CEO of Bajaj Group at Ravindra Natya Mandir in Prabhadevi yesterday.
Bajaj is also a candidate for the Rajya Sabha by-election, which is due next week.
Marathwada Lokvikas Manch, a social organisation, had organised a function to confer Bajaj with the Marathwada Mitra award on his    As pro-reservation activists disrupt
ceremony, Hamara Bajaj battles sleepbirthday.
As soon as Bajaj stood to receive the award, some reservation supporters stood and shouted slogans against him.
They condemned Bajaj for opposing academic reservation.
Also, they distributed pamphlets demanding reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) in Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).
  Soon after the protest, police intervened and arrested 16 activists of Samtavadi Chhatra Bharati, Marathi Bharati, Vaghini, Hindu Vikasini, Itar Magasvargiya Inqlaab and Phule-Shahu-Ambedkar Vichar Manch.
At the same function, senior socialist leader Bapusaheb Kaldate was awarded as Marathwada Bhushan and actor Riteish Deshmukh as Marathwada Gourav.
This is for the second time in a month that these activists have disturbed a felicitation ceremony in Ravindra Natya Mandir.
On May 8, angry slogans were shouted against Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Sons, at the same venue, when he was conferred Maharashtra Bhushan, the states highest civilian award by governor S M Krishna. What a miss!
Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh was expected as a chief guest for Saturdays function. But he skipped it, as Bajaj is a candidate of NCP-BJP-Shiv Sena alliance for Rajya Sabha. At the same time, he missed his son, Riteishs first-ever public felicitation.
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