Eknath Shinde Shiv Sena Ramesh Mhatre Thane Hospital Assault

The Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) has done the right thing in admonishing its corporator, Ramesh Mhatre, for the assault on doctors and medical staff of a Thane municipal hospital after a video of the incident went viral. The altercation reportedly arose over the treatment of a patient on Monday. At times, tempers do run high in hospitals with patients and their families contending with overcrowded, and often unhygienic, facilities. But Mhatre’s conduct is reprehensible not only because it’s an assault on medical professionals but also an abuse of his official position. Residents approach their municipal representatives over a host of everyday civic concerns. Their effectiveness lies in responding with empathy, escalating complaints for redressal, and demanding public accountability. A corporator should never intimidate or browbeat officials when they are discharging their duties. Mhatre’s arrest on Wednesday has, therefore, sent the right message — Maharashtra’s Mahayuti government, of which the Shinde Sena is a part, will not treat high-handedness with impunity.

For at least three decades since its formation in 1966, the Shiv Sena cultivated a politics that was seen to encourage direct action even at the cost of transgressing the rule of law. While upholding Marathi pride was the party’s avowed objective, parochialism often slipped into shows of force and violence. Whether in enforcing bandhs, intervening in local disputes or confronting officials, the Sena projected itself as an organisation willing to bypass institutions in favour of a rough politics. However, as the party assumed greater responsibilities in government, it sought to present itself as a mature political outfit capable of administering complex public institutions.

Shiv Sainiks, though, have not completely abandoned their ways of yore. After the party split in 2022, cadres loyal to Uddhav Thackeray reportedly vandalised the offices of the rival Shinde faction. In March last year, workers of the Shinde Sena ransacked a Mumbai auditorium, where comedian Kunal Kamra had taken a jibe against their leader. The Mahayuti government, which often makes developmental initiatives its calling card, can ill afford to allow such acts of intimidation to become normalised. It must ensure that Wednesday’s action is not an isolated response but the standard for dealing with the abuse of political power.