MNS, Congress clash over Mumbai hawkers' eviction turns violent; RAF called in to control situation

Irked over Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s eviction drive against hawkers, Mumbai Hawkers’ Union called out an agitation —  ‘Rozi Roti Andolan’  on Wednesday — which was disrupted following a scuffle.

A fight broke out between Congress and MNS activists in Dadar as the Congress party decided to support the hawkers’, against MNS eviction drives following the Elphinstone stampede tragedy. Rapid Action Force (RAF) was called in to control the fight.

#Maharashtra: MNS create ruckus in #Mumbai as Congress joins hawkers' protest in the city; Rapid Action Force called in. Workers detained pic.twitter.com/sHNwhEZzsm

— ANI (@ANI) November 1, 2017

The police had to carry out a lathi charge and detain several workers before the situation settled down, reported Hindustan Times . The report further quoted MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande as saying, “Both party members have been detained. Our members only wanted to stop the Congress from carrying out the morcha. There was no fracas.”

The clash broke out after the MNS workers disrupted the Feriwala Samman Morcha (Hawkers’ Felicitation March) organised by the city unit of Congress in support of the protesting hawkers, police said.

As soon as Congress reached Dadar to support the hawkers’ protest, several MNS party workers reached the spot and both the parties entered into an ugly spat leading to complete chaos at the station.

A group of at least 30-40 MNS workers started hurling potatoes at Congress workers. The police arrested workers from both parties for vandalism, reported Mumbai Mirror _._

“Police swung into action and arrested 15 MNS cadres and eight Congress workers,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 5) Rajiv Jain told PTI. He further added that a case under relevant sections of the Maharashtra Police Act was registered against the workers of both the parties.

Another senior official said mild force was used by the police personnel keep the situation under control. Shopkeepers and licenced hawkers chose to keep their shops shut during this period.

Reacting to the scuffle between the two parties, Mumbai unit Congress president Nirupam said, “Congress party leaders and workers, mainly Maharashtrians, had organised this morcha to felicitate the Marathi hawkers. But that, too, was disrupted by the MNS. I blame the local police for the entire drama. My only aim is to implement the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, which essentially gives rights to the street hawkers as well as licences. I hope this issue comes to the forefront.”

The MNS’ anti-hawker drive has been gaining traction for some time now.

Earlier on 21st October, a group of hawkers was attacked and their stalls vandalised by MNS activists. Following this, the hawkers’ union had decided to hold a demonstration on 1 November as a mark of protest.

Raj Thackrey’s aggressive stance against hawkers setting up stalls near railway stations:

MNS has adopted an aggressive stance against hawkers occupying railway station premises and setting up stalls, after the Elphinstone Road railway station stampede that claimed 23 lives. Party’s chief Raj Thackeray held a rally from Metro Cinema to Churchgate railway station in south Mumbai on  5 October flagging off their protest, followed by several eviction drives in the city including in  Malad, Vashi, and Thane.  

The issue has gained a political colour with the Congress and MNS pitted against each other in an ‘anti-hawker vs pro-hawker’ narrative.

Aftermath of Thackeray’s anti-hawker drive: 

On 28 October, some MNS activists were assaulted by hawkers outside suburban Malad railway station while they were trying to evict them forcibly. Police later arrested seven hawkers under various sections of the IPC, including 307 (attempt to murder) in connection with the incident.

Meanwhile, Sanjay Nirupam also addressed a rally after the incident and said that hawkers should not tolerate “high-handedness” of MNS activists and are capable of retaliation.

The political tussle between MNS and Congress over the hawkers’ issue intensified further on 30 October when workers of the Thackeray-led party held a protest outside Nirupam’s residence.

Police arrested 11 MNS activists for participating in the protest held outside the Versova residence of the Congress leader, who has sided with hawkers.

Following the attack on MNS workers, Nirupam was booked on 29 October for addressing the rally without securing prior permission from the police.

What’s the issue?

The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act’s  non-implementation, since it was passed as a law in 2014, is the root cause of the problem.  The transit-oriented development, which is considered as the only viable solution to manage public spaces, too has not been implemented. Certain issues concerning the hawkers like the licenses, protection against the arbitrary eviction of stalls by the BMC and formation of Town Vending Committee (TVC) are all covered within the law, however, its poor implementation has aggravated the problem.

What does the law say on street vendors?

In its landmark judgment of 9 September, 2013 in the Maharashtra Ekta Hawkers Union vs. Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai case, the apex court stated, “street vendors … are a harassed lot and constantly victimised by the officials of the local authorities, the police, etc, who regularly target them for extra income and treat them with extreme contempt,” reported The Hindu . This led to the recognition of the rights of the hawkers, with the apex court stating that street vendors also have a fundamental right to their occupation as per Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution.

With inputs from PTI