By IANS,
Mumbai : Protesting the delay by the centre in handing over land for constructing a memorial to B.R. Ambedkar, the Republican Party of India Thursday staged a noisy demonstration outside the Maharashtra legislature.
Entering the high-security zone and taking the security by surprise, around 60 RPI supporters shouted slogans and attempted to barge into the legislature building at Nariman Point.
However, the police managed to stop them and the protestors were whisked away from the venue, while around a dozen were detained.
Earlier this week, RPI chief Ramdas Athawale, an ally of the opposition Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party, had warned that unless the centre immediately cleared the proposal, his party would take a protest march to Mantralaya.
The centre has given an in principle approval to a proposal for handing over 12.5 acres of the Indu Mills at Shivaji Park in Dadar to construct an ultra-modern memorial for Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution.
The mill land belongs to the National Textile Corporation Ltd and it must first be transferred to the state government.