Maharashtra government will crush attempts to raise anti-national slogans, says Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse

Maharashtra Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse on Monday said the state government will "crush" all attempts to raise anti-national slogans and vitiate atmosphere in educational institutions.

Khadse, the Leader of the House in the state Legislative Council, said the government will not tolerate attempts at disturbing atmosphere by statements that "people would not chant slogans like 'Vande Mataram' and 'Bharatmata Ki Jai'". "The government will crush all attempts to raise anti- national slogans," he said.

He also said the government will probe whether the event at Fergusson College in Pune in which (JNUSU President) Kanhaiya Kumar was invited had permission. "The question is not that any outsider is being accused of anti-national activities, but an MLA, who was not even invited to the College, goes there and tries to vitiate the atmosphere," Khadse said.

He was making an intervention after Leader of Opposition Dhananjay Munde and others tried to move a series of adjournment motions over the event at Fergusson College, Nanded farmer suicide and the 'purification' ritual at 'Chavdar Tale' in Mahad in Raigad district. Kapil Patil (Lok Bharti) raised the issue of a 'purification' ritual at 'Chavdar Tale' in Mahad in Raigad district, where Babasaheb Ambedkar had led "water satyagraha" to assert the rights of Dalits to use the water in the lake in 1927.

Anil Parab (Shiv Sena) intervened and said the function in Mahad was an official one and that invites were sent to elected representatives as well.