When Congress leader Vishwajeet Kadam offered to build a house for Vivekanand Patil’s parents, the 24-year-old MPSC aspirant did something unusual for someone who had suddenly become the face of an MPSC protest in Pune: he politely said “no”.
For all the theatricality, his central message remains straightforward. He wants students, who have spent years preparing for government examinations, to believe that the system is fair and trustworthy.
His prominence has been noticed across the political spectrum. Shiv Sena leader and minister Uday Samant shared a video of Patil’s modest home and praised him, particularly noting the photograph of Swami Vivekanand in the house. Kadam’s reaction was more personal. After seeing photographs and videos of Patil’s home, he offered to build a house for his parents. Patil, however, turned the offer into another expression of his personality. He cited former IAS officer Tukaram Mundhe and former minister Patangrao Kadam as examples of people who had risen despite hardship. “He does not sound like a conventional protester reading out a list of demands. He can move from paper leaks and recruitment rules to Maharashtra’s droughts, farmers, political defections, history, mythology and Marathi literature.
Then, true to form, he ended the serious moment with a joke about contesting the 2029 Lok Sabha election and possibly needing Kadam’s support.
“Seeing the photograph of Swami Vivekanand in Vivekanand Patil’s house made me happy,” Samant said, while assuring that the Maharashtra government stood with MPSC aspirants. “I will build a house for Vivekanand Patil — if not for him, at least for his parents,” Kadam said, explaining that the offer was not because Patil had become famous but because his home reminded Kadam of the circumstances in which his own father had lived. He thanked the Congress leader but said he would build the house himself. Protestors in the ongoing MPSC stir at SM Joshi bridge in Pune said his ability to move between seriousness and humour is central to Patil’s speeches.
He quotes poets and ‘shayars’, recites lines from Sant Tukaram and Kusumagraj, and uses political events as punchlines,” said Mitali Deshmukh, who was present at the protest on Wednesday.
