Mumbai, December 11: The Maharashtra Police on Sunday suspended seven constables and three officers in connection with the incident in which ink was thrown at state cabinet minister Chandrakant Patil.

Ink was thrown at BJP leader and Maharashtra cabinet minister Chandrakant Patil on Saturday in Pimpri Chinchwad city of Pune district over his alleged remark on Dr BR Ambedkar and Mahatma Jyotiba Phule. Maharashtra: Man Throws Ink At Minister Chandrakant Patil Over His Remarks on Dr BR Ambedkar, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule in Pune’s Pimpri Chinchwad (Watch Video).

A video showed a man suddenly coming in front of Patil and throwing ink at his face as the minister comes out from a building. Condemning the incident, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis supported Chandrakant Patil's statement where he had said that Ambedkar and Phule did not seek government grants for educational institutions and started schools and you should also do the same.

"It's a very sad incident. The meaning of what Chandrakant Patil had said should have been understood. It meant that Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar or Dr Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil never ran institutions by seeking grants from the government," Devendra Fadnavis said. Maharashtra-Karnataka Border Row: Coordinating Ministers Chandrakant Patil, Shambhuraj Desai’s Visit to Belagavi Postponed.

While addressing media persons after the ink incident on Saturday, Patil said, "I went to distribute certificates at a university in Paithan in Devgiri district on completion of the course. They asked for more funds. Rs 12 crore is already given to them and they asked for more Rs 23 crore from the government.

While sanctioning it, I said the government will surely give but you should try and collect funds from other sources. With due respect, I said that in Maharashtra, schools were started by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, Mahatma Phule and Maharshi Karve. When did I criticize Dr Ambedkar and Mahatma Phule? I said they did not wait for the government's financial aid but they begged (bheek) to start a school."

Giving clarification of what he meant by begging, the BJP leader said, "I come from 'dehat' (rural area), they have a problem with it. In 'dehat', even a mother says (to her child) after your father's death I begged to raise you. Does it mean she was standing with a begging bowl? When someone goes to the court and pleads to the judge for justice and says "I beg for Justice", is it wrong? Is 'bheek' the wrong word?"

He said that Ambedkar and Phule did not seek government grants for educational institutions and started schools and you should also do the same. "What did I say wrong?" he asked.Patil further said that the incident did not impact him. "Nothing can happen by splashing ink on my face. Doesn't impact me. I changed my shirt and moved ahead," he had said.

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