Milind Deora’s letter to CM Fadnavis on barring protests in South Mumbai triggers a row

Shiv Sena MP's letter comes in the wake of the five-day-long hunger strike undertaken by Maratha reservation campaigner Manoj Jarange-Patil at Azad Maidan

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora’s letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis that morchas should not be allowed in South Mumbai has sparked off a major controversy, with Opposition parties and the public at large slamming the former Union Minister.

The letter comes in the wake of the five-day-long hunger strike undertaken by Maratha reservation campaigner Manoj Jarange-Patil at Azad Maidan during which lakhs of protesters came to South Mumbai, bringing road traffic to a standstill.

Currently a Rajya Sabha member from Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Deora was a two-time Lok Sabha member from Mumbai South representing the Congress and had served as a Minister of State in the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. His father, Murli Deora, was a four-time MP from Mumbai South.

Neither Fadnavis nor Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister, who is also the Urban Development Minister and Mumbai City district’s guardian Minister, has commented on Deora's letter, which is posted on X, saying: “While every Indian has the right to protest, SOPs must ensure that Maharashtra’s political and economic nerve centre is not paralysed.”

In the letter to Fadnavis, Deora said while the right to protest is an essential democratic freedom, it must be balanced with the rights of ordinary citizens to live and work without disruption.

“South Mumbai is not only the heart of our State's governance, but also its political and economic nerve centre. It houses the Mantralaya, the Vidhan Sabha, the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters, the offices of the Mumbai police and Maharashtra police, as well as the Western Naval Command. It is also the hub of financial institutions, corporate headquarters, and vital infrastructure on which millions depend every day. No capital city in the world permits its core institutions of governance, security, and economy to be repeatedly crippled by protests,” Deora said in the letter to the Chief Minister.

“While peaceful demonstrations are integral to democracy, their location and scale must not undermine the functioning of government, municipal administration, security forces, or the private sector. I therefore urge the Government of Maharashtra to take necessary steps to prohibit or relocate such protests away from South Mumbai's high-security, high-functioning zones. This will ensure that citizens' rights are protected, governance remains uninterrupted, and Mumbai continues to function as the undisputed financial and political capital of Maharashtra and India,” he said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut hit out at Deora. “The true face of the Shinde faction, patronised by (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah, has been exposed; the resentment over Marathi people uniting in Mumbai for their rightful demands has come to light,” said Raut and asked the Shinde-led Shiv Sena to stop using the photo of late Balasaheb Thackeray.

The Marathi Ekikaran Samiti said: “Those who say that Marathi people coming to Mumbai cause trouble... where are they when the roads and intersections are blocked by hawkers? Now let's see how many hawkers you clear out. One thing to remember, you didn't buy Mumbai, it was the Marathi people who made you big in politics.”

Several users on social media and Maratha activists slammed Deora for the letter.