You can’t blame me for deploying force to prevent violence: Ashok Chavan

Chief minister Ashok Chavan is not leaving anything to chance. Even though the home ministry is with his coalition partner, the Nationa-list Congress Party, Chavan himself is meticulously drawing strategies, along with the top brass of the police, to ensure that the people of Maharashtra are not inconvenienced by Monday’s Bharat bandh. In an interview to DNA, he says maintaining law and order will be the biggest challenge on Monday.

Are you confident to braving the Bharat Bandh?
Yes. The government has taken all preparatory measures to ensure normal functioning in the state. I will drive down to my office in Mantralaya to work on Monday.

How do you expect people to work if public transport, especially  trains, doesn’t function?
It’s not true. Buses and trains will be plying. The administration will ensure their smooth functioning.

Your appeal to Mumbaikars?
It is my earnest appeal to the people of Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra not to participate in the strike call given by opposition parties. Anybody found disrupting  trains and transport services will be firmly dealt with by the police force. I want people to report to work just like any other day.

You threatened to go to courts against the Bharat bandh?
No. We are not approaching the courts. Legal experts told us that court verdict against the strike was already in place. There was no need to take the matter to the courts. What remains to be executed is its (the verdict’s) effective implementation.

You are against the strike call. As a politician don’t you think
it is undemocratic?
The Supreme Court has declared bandhs as illegal. I am not redefining it or trying to thwart any agitation. I am not using police force to silence the opposition. They are free to carry their protests in a democratic manner. As the head of the state, my
concern is to ensure that law  and order is maintained across Maharashtra.

Do you justify the price hikes?
I am aware of the the hardships the people are facing because of the inflation. But for how long, and to what extent, can the government  provide subsidies in the fuel sector. Often, the prices are governed by international markets and import policies. Moreover, why are we blaming the Congress government? The BJP-led NDA, when it was in power at the Centre, too, had hiked fuel prices.

You are determined to wield the lathi against the opposition?
My primary job is to ensure law and order in Maharashtra. I will have to take all the steps that are required to protect the people of the state. I will have to ensure that there is no untoward incident anywhere in the state. And if I am deploying additional forces to prevent violence, I cannot be faulted.

Is opposition using price rise to serve their political mission?
It is obvious. But that is the role of the opposition. I have nothing against their agitations. I am answerable to the people of the state.