Maharashtra education minister orders student's arrest for asking tough question
Maharashtra Education Minister and BJP leader Vinod Tawde has come under fire after he allegedly ordered the arrest of a student recording a video of him being unable to answer tough questions. Apart from harsh criticism, Tawde's alleged order also sparked off student protests led by the Shiv Sena's youth wing. Tawde, however, has denied that any such thing took place. Here's more.
What we know about the incident
The incident took place when Tawde was leaving after speaking at a college debate competition in Amravati. As he was leaving, two students - Prashant Rathod and Yuvraj Dabhade - approached the minister and asked him about a question about free education. Displeased at the question, Tawde allegedly gave a curt reply and threatened Dabhade with arrest for recording the interaction.
Tawde resorted to taunts when he could not answer
During the interaction, Rathod asked Tawde if there was ever a possibility of the government providing free education in India. Tawde dismissed the question and taunted Rathod, saying that he should get a job and start earning if he couldn't afford education. Meanwhile, Dabhade, who was recording the interaction, was asked to stop. He refused, and Tawde reportedly asked cops to arrest him.
An eyewitness' account of the incident
"How can an education minister say this? As Yuvraj started recording the exchange, Tawde told the security personnel to arrest him and put him in the van...We are media students. Did we do anything wrong in asking questions and recording?," said one eyewitness, Swapnil Utkhede.
Dabhade was detained for an hour, his cellphone was confiscated
Following Tawde's alleged arrest order, police reportedly shoved Dabhade into their van, confiscated his phone, and deleted the video that he had recorded. The student was detained for over an hour before he was released. The incident invited strong condemnation from Yuva Sena leader Aditya Thackeray, and student protests were taken out led by the Yuva Sena.
Tawde's account of what went down at the college
Tawde, however, denied that he had given such an order. Speaking to Mumbai Mirror, Tawde said that he had held a two-and-a-half hour long interaction session at the college. When he was quizzed while leaving, he told the students that if they wanted to record, a proper discussion should be recorded in the auditorium. Tawde alleged that police personnel subsequently took Dabhade aside and that he had no hand in it.
Tawde sharply criticized for his alleged order
Despite Tawde's claims, his alleged actions drew sharp criticism from the political class. Aditya Thackeray took to Twitter to criticize the high-handedness of the education minister, while MLC Kapil Patil wrote a letter to Tawde, saying that his alleged order was not befitting behavior for a minister of the state. Patil added that even if police had initiated action against Dabhade, Tawde should have intervened.
