Mumbai, Oct 13: The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Tuesday criticised the Central and state leadership, accusing them of creating a civil-war-like, anarchic situation across the country.

The Thackeray camp in the party’s mouthpiece, ‘Samaana’, condemned the alleged police brutality against ‘peaceful’ student protesters, youth, and women in Delhi and Mumbai, while sharply criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for their “silence and apathy”.

The editorial said that the country is witnessing an atmosphere akin to a civil war, with Delhi transformed into a massive police station where children and young girls are being shamelessly beaten. Despite Supreme Court directives stating that police should not use batons on protesters when there is no rioting, police forces in Delhi and Mumbai have reportedly behaved high-handedly, subjecting peaceful satyagrahis to brutal force. In Delhi, women satyagrahis and journalists faced ruthless behaviour, with allegations that male police personnel molested and manhandled them. Prominent political figures, including MP John Brittas, CPI General Secretary M.A. Baby, and Kerala opposition leader P. Vijayan, were dragged, beaten, and stuffed into prison vans while participating in a peaceful satyagraha, said the Saamana editorial.

The editorial further stated that similar tactics reportedly spread to Mumbai, where students and numerous female college students staging a satyagraha near Shivaji Park were cruelly dragged and forced into police vans.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena accused Home Minister Amit Shah of “crushing” Supreme Court orders and “unleashing brute force on peaceful protesters”, claiming these actions are fuelling public anger against the Prime Minister. It criticised Prime Minister Modi for visiting Chennai to review metro presentations and deliver lectures on development instead of uttering a single word over the unrest.

The Thackeray camp accused Home Minister Amit Shah of “staying sequestered behind armed guards, ignoring public uprisings and police crackdowns, and instead celebrating by distributing sweets on social media over the BJP’s by-election victories in states like West Bengal and Puducherry”.

The editorial launched a severe attack on the nation’s prominent award-winning personalities — holders of honours like Bharat Ratna, Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Jnanpith, and Sahitya Akademi awards — as well as film and theatre celebrities, comparing them to submissive artists dancing to the tune of power.

Drawing a parallel to the silence of intellectuals and artists during the eras of Hitler and Mussolini, the editorial quoted writer Harishankar Parsai, stating that the country’s intellectuals are “nominal tigers who merely play band in a jackal’s wedding”.

“While actors and public figures deliver heavy dialogues on screen, they zip their mouths when the nation faces a crisis, acting as beneficiaries of the government just like beneficiaries of welfare schemes”, claimed the editorial.

In contrast, the editorial praised figures like Prakash Raj, Naseeruddin Shah, and Jaya Bachchan, along with former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar — who voiced opposition to police high-handedness — as showing true spirit and greater nationalism.

The Thackeray camp warned that treating these opportunistic celebrities as neutral when a political shift occurs would be an ultimate betrayal of the youth who are currently suffering under police oppression and fighting against dictatorship.

The editorial concluded by declaring that “intellectuals who silently watch such atrocities are enemies of society and of no use to the nation”.

New Delhi, Oct 13: BJP MP Ravi Kishan sharply criticised the Opposition parties’ ongoing protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and stated that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has ‘lost his mental balance’.

Speaking to reporters in Chhattisgarh, Ravi Kishan said, “Rahul Gandhi, as you can see in recent visuals, seems to have lost his mental balance. They are resorting to physical violence. The day before yesterday, there was a fight involving shoes and slippers in Uttar Pradesh during a clash over the state party president. Akhilesh Yadav and the Samajwadi Party are also involved. Since they are unable to defeat PM Modi and the BJP, they are now trying to hijack things.”

Highlighting the inconvenience caused to the public due to recent protests in the national capital, he said, “For 65 years, the Congress party has exploited this country. They want India to go back 65 years. They are trying to hijack things and cause inconvenience to the people in Delhi. Someone travelling in an ambulance with a sick person is being inconvenienced, and someone else is unable to get to work. They are not even asking the public what it wants. The people want PM Modi and this government, under which India is progressing so well…”

Kisan further mentioned that when the Opposition loses elections, they make such allegations against EVMs and elections.

“Gyanesh Kumar came in 2025. I want to ask Rahul Gandhi, wherever you won elections, there were no problems, but when you lose, suddenly you start questioning the EVM, alleging vote theft. When you fear losing, then you do such drama, ask people what they want — they want BJP. Youth is satisfied with BJP; you are trying to hijack a few youngsters,” he said.

Opposition leaders have alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise and raised concerns over the electoral rolls, while the BJP has defended the process and accused the Congress of politicising the issue.

Earlier, the INDIA bloc leaders had also sought an appointment with Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant to discuss their concerns. However, the CJI declined their request and advised them to approach the court through a petition in accordance with the established legal procedure.

Following this, Gandhi led a protest march of the INDIA bloc leaders towards the apex court on Monday.

New Delhi, Oct 13: A Supreme Court lawyer has approached Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant seeking consideration of suo motu criminal contempt proceedings over a now-deleted social media post by Congress Kerala targeting the CJI and the Opposition’s protest march to the apex court.

In his complaint-cum-representation, advocate Vineet Jindal urged the CJI to examine whether the post and the reported demonstration and slogan-shouting inside the apex court premises raised issues warranting action under the law, particularly in view of concerns over the security and orderly functioning of the Supreme Court.

The Congress Kerala unit had posted on X: “Dear Surya Kant, If law and order is not your domain, resign now. We will find your replacement who can handle it.”

Jindal submitted that the publication should be examined in its complete factual and legal context to determine whether it fell within the bounds of permissible political criticism or warranted consideration under Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.

He referred to Article 129 of the Constitution, which empowers the Supreme Court to punish for contempt of itself, and sought consideration of suo motu proceedings, if warranted.

The advocate further sought an examination of the reported demonstration during the filing of a petition by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders to ascertain whether any restricted area was entered without authorisation, security instructions were violated, or the functioning of the top court was obstructed.

Jindal urged the preservation and examination of relevant CCTV footage, access-control logs, security deployment records and other evidence before any conclusion is drawn.

Earlier, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) had separately condemned statements calling for the CJI’s resignation, cautioning that such remarks risk undermining judicial dignity and interfering with the administration of justice.

The INDIA bloc’s march on Monday was held to protest alleged electoral irregularities and the SIR exercise.

A delegation of Opposition leaders subsequently approached the Supreme Court with a joint petition challenging the electoral roll revision process.

Meanwhile, lawyers have approached the Supreme Court in connection with Monday’s incident at the apex court registry, when Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, arrived to file a petition challenging the SIR exercise.

When senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia mentioned the matter before the top court on Tuesday, the CJI asked, “Is it in the mentioning list?” After Bhatia replied in the negative, the CJI said, “Just mention tomorrow.”

Delhi Police have also registered four FIRs in connection with the INDIA bloc’s protest march, police sources said. The cases were registered at the Tilak Marg, Mandir Marg and Barakhamba police stations for alleged violations of Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

Two FIRs were registered at Tilak Marg police station and one each at Mandir Marg and Barakhamba police stations. Separately, several protesters, including Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) members Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, were detained at Jantar Mantar during a flash protest.