Video: Man Throws Haldi At Maharashtra Minister, Warns Chief Minister

Maharashtra Revenue Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil was sprayed with haldi, or turmeric powder, today when he was meeting with members of a community demanding reservation.

A video of the incident showed two men from the Dhangar (shepherd) community standing on either side of the minister while he was reading a letter handed to him by them, when suddenly one of them pulled out turmeric powder from his pocket and poured it over the minister's head. Mr Patil's aides then grabbed the man, threw him to the ground, and kicked and punched him while he shouted about the reservation issue in Marathi, the video shows.

The incident took place at the government rest house in Solapur district.

The man, identified as Shekhar Bangale, told the media later that he did it to draw the government's attention to the issues faced by his community. He reiterated the Dhangar community's demand of reservation under the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category, and warned that they would throw black paint at even the Chief Minister or other state ministers if the demand is not met soon.

Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said he doesn't consider it wrong as turmeric powder is used in religious rituals and is considered holy. It's a matter of joy, he said. He added that he has not asked for any action against the protestor. On why his party workers beat him up, Mr Patil said nobody understood at that instant what had happened, so it was a natural reaction. He said he has asked party workers not to go after the man.

Maharashtra has recently seen aggressive protests by members of the Maratha community after the reservation provided by the state government for the politically dominant group was cancelled by the Supreme Court earlier.