Ink thrown at former Maharashtra AG Shrihari Aney during a protest for separate state

New Delhi: Maharashtra’s former Advocate General Shrihari Aney came under an ink attack on Thursday during a protest in Delhi for a separate state of Vidarbha, with the organisers claiming that an outfit championing united Maharashtra was behind it.

It was not immediately clear as to who the attacker was but Vidarbha Rajya Andolan Samiti (VRAS) leaders suspect the hand of Swabhimani Sanghtana, an organisation headed by son of Congress leader Narayan Rane, which is strongly opposed to division of Maharashtra, in the incident.

Meanwhile, no police complaint was filed and organisers dubbed it as a “minor” incident.

Aney was forced to quit his post this month after his remarks favouring a separate Marathwada state created a furore in Maharashtra legislature. Earlier he had favoured a separate Vidarbha state.

The protest convened by VRAS also saw participation of BJP’s Nana Patole, NCP’s Anil Deshmukh among other leaders.

Former legislator and VRAS committee member Wamanrao Chatap expressed his resolve to keep fighting for the “rights of people of Vidarbha”.

The former AG also met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to garner his support for the cause so that the issue could be raised in Parliament.