12 October,2026 10:57 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Uddhav Thackeray. File Pic
The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Monday accused the Central government of using what it described as "cowardly" dictatorial tactics to suppress anti-government demonstrations across the country, criticising the detention of protesters and opposition leaders in Delhi and Mumbai.
In an editorial published in the party's mouthpiece Saamana, the Thackeray-led faction criticised the security measures imposed on October 10, during which thousands of protesters, student activists and opposition figures were reportedly detained.
The editorial claimed that the Centre deployed armed security personnel, including forces drawn from anti-terror and anti-Naxalite operations in regions such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, and Manipur, to enforce a security blockade across Delhi.
It alleged that access routes and lanes across the national capital were sealed and that nearly 1 lakh armed personnel surrounded the residence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Krishna Menon Road.
According to the editorial, the security arrangements disrupted public services, including internet connectivity, metro operations, local bus networks, long-distance train services and commercial flights. It also claimed that police boarded an aircraft to detain political leaders, including Dipankar Bhattacharya and Manoj Jha.
Despite the restrictions, large numbers of students and civil society members reached protest venues in Delhi, the editorial said. It also stated that former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal were among the opposition leaders detained during the crackdown.
In Mumbai, police detained Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, as he attempted to lead a peaceful satyagraha towards August Kranti Maidan, according to the editorial.
The publication said Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray and party workers subsequently marched to the DN Nagar police station to demand Gandhi's immediate release.
The Saamana editorial also referred to alleged international scrutiny of India's handling of the protests. It claimed that the United Nations Human Rights Office had expressed concern over arbitrary detentions, police conduct and reports of female demonstrators being dragged into prison vans and taken to undisclosed locations.
The editorial said the UN had urged Indian authorities to protect the right to peaceful assembly and release those detained arbitrarily. It also cited coverage by The New York Times and London-based newspapers, arguing that the crackdown had drawn international attention to India's democratic institutions.
These assertions were presented by the editorial; the specific UN statements and media reports would require independent verification.
Responding to BJP leaders and media outlets that reportedly described the demonstrations as a "flop show", the Thackeray-led faction argued that the scale of the security deployment reflected the government's apprehension about public dissent.
The editorial further alleged a decade-long pattern of public harassment, misuse of public funds and electoral manipulation, linking these accusations to what it described as mounting public anger over governance.
"When a dictator is afraid, the demon within him builds armed steel walls for self-protection, but these walls are inevitably destroyed by the rebellion of the people," the editorial declared.
