The protest, part of the party’s ‘Jan Aakrosh Andolan’ (Public Outrage Movement), centered around the controversial allotment of the Mother Dairy plot in Kurla to the Adani Group. Protesters marched peacefully in a Gandhian manner, holding placards and chanting slogans against the state government.
Speaking to Lokshahi Marathi, Varsha Gaikwad said, “We are carrying out this protest through completely democratic means. We have held similar protests twice before, but both times the police tried to stop us. In one such incident, I was even injured during a scuffle. The police department is fully aware of this.”
She questioned the state machinery’s impartiality, saying, “Why is such a heavy police deployment needed for a businessman like Adani? Will the poor and common people receive the same level of protection when they face injustice?”
Gaikwad accused the government of favoring industrialists while neglecting the needs of the poor and farmers. “Loans worth thousands of crores of rupees are waived for industrialists like Adani, but no relief is given to farmers and the underprivileged. This agitation demands justice for the common man,” she asserted.
Taking a sharp dig, she added, “Some industrialists have developed a ‘disease of greed.’ They treat Mumbai’s precious lands as their private property. But this cannot continue in a democracy.”
She further demanded, “The state government must decide whether it wants to uphold democracy or run the state through corporate tyranny. At the very least, democracy must survive in progressive Maharashtra. This decision should not be made just to benefit one businessman. First, listen to the people of Kurla.”
The protest saw heavy participation from local citizens and Congress party workers. The demonstration led to temporary traffic congestion in parts of Kurla. The turnout reflected growing public concern over urban land being allocated to private entities without transparent procedures or public consensus.
As the controversy over the Kurla land allotment continues to grow, the Congress party has indicated that it will escalate the movement if its demands are not addressed. The issue is expected to become a significant political flashpoint in the run-up to the upcoming civic elections in Mumbai.