The demonstration, both vociferous and vehement, brought police to the venue along with a contingent of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) while a worried Minister for Cultural Affairs Pramod Navalkar and Shiv Sena youth leader Raj Thackeray also hot-footed it to the theatre.

Congress activists, including a significant number of women, laid siege to the theatre at around 2 pm to protest against the attack on Mahatma Gandhi by the play scripted by Pradeep Dalvi and produced by Uday Dhurat of Mauli Production.

Taking a page out of the ruling Shiv Sena's book, which has banned entertainment it has deemed as vulgar onseveral occasions, a swarm of Congress activists condemnded `anti-Mahatma elements'. However, the focus soon panned to the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state, with calls to dismiss the saffron alliance. Chief Minister Manohar Joshi and his deputy Gopinath Munde in particular were the butt of most of the slogans.

The demonstrators were relentless till evening, when the dithering theatre management finally decided to cancel the show. A board was hastily erected but the drama merely shifted outside. The livid audience, comprising over a hundred persons, argued with the police and SRPF personnel.

The police, in plainclothes, were clearly at a loss as women activists began to pile up at the gate. Not content with venting their anger at the stony-faced policemen, members of the audience then turned on the activists.

Before flashpoint was reached, police tried to herd them into their vans. However, taking advantage of the fact that there was only a sprinkling of women police officers, theactivists crawled out of the vehicles faster than they were being shovelled in. Policemen and SRPF personnel stood helpless as the women activists continued to parade their repertoire of histrionics.Demonstrators, who had blocked the busy road threw traffic out of gear and ripped away barricades erected by the police. Soon, the `House Full' sign was stamped to pieces and a copy of Sena mouthpiece `Saamna' was burnt for its editorial eulogising the Mahatma's assassin, Nathuram Godse.

At around 3.30 pm, Navalkar drew up in his car sending police into near-panic. Resorting to a hasty lathi-charge, police rounded up about 64 activists and arrested them. Congress leaders Jitendra Avad, Charan Singh Sapra, Uday Khule and Manoj Pradhan were injured in the melee. The crowd thinned a little but that was merely a cue for the women demonstrators to stage their second act. They threw themselves in front of the theatre and barred the minister from entering the premises.

Navalkar, who had come to view the play beforesubmitting his view to the state Cabinet, was later hustled in through the back door, escorted by police.

About 100 policemen were already present in the theatre, where the crew of the play were huddled in the Green Room. Navalkar spoke to a visibly agitated Pradeep Dalvi and Uday Dhurat, whose composure was far from convincing. Producer Vinay Apte could not turn up.

Sena youth leader Raj Thackeray also arrived at the theatre but was not let in by the police. However, an emmisary of Thackeray was allowed to meet the minister, who in turn spoke to the Sena leader. Finally, a decision was taken to suspend the screening till the government takes a decision.

From the confines of the theatre, State Minister for Cultural Affairs Pramod Navalkar telephoned Chief Minister Manohar Joshi, waking him from his afternoon siesta. ``It's an emergency,'' said Navalkar, who was told to call after 15 minutes.

When Navalkar finally spoke to the chief minister, it was evident that Joshi was not aware that the Centre hadasked the state government whether the production should be banned. Navalkar and Joshi decided to consult Chief Secretary P Subrahmaniam before taking a decision.Later, Raj said his party had not yet taken a stand on the issue. ``Where were these Congress people when supporters of Kanshi Ram desecrated Gandhiji's samadhi at Raj Ghat,'' he asked. There was ``nothing in the play that insulted the Mahatma'', he added. Referring to the impending Monsoon Session of the state Legislature, he said: ``Such controversies are created only on the eve of the session.'' Brihanmumbai Regional Congress Committee President Murli Deora told Express Newsline that the issue is being blown out of proportion and that despite today's demonstration by party activists, retierated that the Congress endorses non-violence as enunciated by the Mahatma himself.