The Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), led by Prakash Ambedkar, has called for a Maharashtra bandh on July 23 in support of the CJP-led student movement and to protest the police action against demonstrators.
Announcing the bandh, Ambedkar said the decision was taken following the alleged lathi-charge on students protesting in Delhi.
“In light of the brutal attack and lathi-charge on students protesting peacefully in Delhi, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi has called for a Maharashtra Bandh on July 23 in support of the students and in protest against the police brutality,” he said.
Ambedkar appealed to like-minded political parties, student organisations and people from all sections of society to join and support the statewide bandh.
Last week, the VBA chief visited Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, where he met activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is on an indefinite hunger strike, along with CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke.
Referring to Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s address to the Constituent Assembly on November 25, 1949, Prakash Ambedkar said his grandfather had stressed that democracy must function through constitutional means and that democratic institutions should remain responsive to the concerns and grievances of citizens.
He further said Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar believed political democracy could survive only when guided by the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity. According to him, the right to question authority, seek accountability and express dissent peacefully forms the foundation of a healthy democracy, which is ultimately judged by how it responds to disagreement rather than agreement.
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