FIR against Brinda Karat, AIDWA for `unlawful' protest over food security PDS issues

Mumbai: A First Information Report (FIR) was registered here on Tuesday against CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat and members of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) for holding an `unlawful’ protest over food security and Public Distribution System-related issues, police said.

Hundreds of women took part in the protest with banners and placards demanding “ration (food) rights” in the Azad Maidan area near the headquarters of the Mumbai civic body.

The AIDWA’s office is located in the same area and the organization had sought permission to stage the protest on the nearby footpath, but the police denied them permission and asked them to protest on the Azad Maidan ground which is a place designated for such activities, an official said.

A delegation of protesters later met Maharashtra Food and Civil Supply Minister Chhagan Bhujbal at Mantralaya, the state headquarters, to put forth their demands.

Late in the evening, Azad Maidan police registered a case for alleged unlawful assembly and violation of prohibitory orders against Karat and members of the AIDWA including its state unit chief Nasima Shaikh and secretary Prachi Hativalekar, the police official said.

Nobody was arrested, he added.