The Maharashtra police unleashed a brutal lathi charge against Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers for stopping the car of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar during a protest at Osamanabad district on Friday.
According to the reports, the ASHA workers continued their protests for the fourth day against the state government, demanding an increase in the monthly honorarium. Around 70,000 Asha workers in Maharashtra had launched an indefinite strike from June 15 against the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state, demanding a pay hike.
In one such protest in Osmanabad, the ASHA workers confronted the convoy of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and managed to stop the car to submit their grievances. In the below video, it can be seen how the ASHA workers had jumped onto the street to stop Ajit Pawar’s car.
https://twitter.com/jitengajaria/status/1405842007684116490?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwHowever, Ajit Pawar did not even stop his car to hear the grievances of the ASHA workers. Instead, the Maharashtra police attempted to pull the ASHA workers away from his car, as evident in the video.
As more ASHA workers circled Ajit Pawar’s car, the Maharashtra police unleashed the lathi charge against women ASHA workers to disperse the crowd and allow the Deputy Chief Minister to move away from the spot with ease. Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope was also present at the spot during the incident.
Here is the video of the incident in which Maharashtra police can be seen beating up woman health workers on the streets of Osmanabad for confronting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister over his government’s failure to implement their promise.
Last year, during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Maharashtra government had promised these Covid warriors to pay Rs 4000 per month. However, the government failed to keep up their promise and paid them a meagre Rs 1,650 per month.
Hence, the ASHA workers hit the street in Maharashtra, demanding the government to fulfil its promises. During their protest, ASHA workers claimed that the state government has refused to hike their honorarium, claiming that they are facing a financial crunch.