Mevani, Khalid not responsible for Maha violence: Athawale Caste conflict will not augur well for future politics: RSS
MUMBAI: Dalit rights activist and Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani and JNU student leader Umar Khalid were not responsible for the violence at Bhima-koregaon near Pune, said Ramdas Athawale, Union minister of state for social justice and president of Republican Party of India (A).
Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Athawale said Mevani may have made provocative statements but that was not the actual reason for the unrest. Tension started after a meeting held by the Marathas at midnight on January 31, he alleged.
Dalits heading to Bhima-koregaon to commemorate the 200th anniversary of a British-peshwa war were attacked on January 1. Dalit groups blamed Hindutva groups for the assault, while the latter alleged that provocative statements by Khalid and Mevani vitiated the harmony between the communities.
Athawale also met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday morning and demanded action against those responsible for the violence in which a 28-year-old man was killed; and an end to harassment of Dalit youth by the police.
The Pune police have booked Mevani and Khalid for allegedly making inflammatory and provocative statements at the Elgar Parishad event in Pune’s Shaniwarwada on December 31. The case was registered after a complaint by a 22-year-old student.
“He (Mevani) may have said something provocative but is not responsible for the unrest. Tension between the two communities erupted after a banner — put up by a Dalit youth explaining the history of Govind Mahar, a Dalit farmer who cremated Sambhaji Maharaj’s body against the order of a Mughal emperor— was torn down,” Athawale said.
“The tension was defused after several leaders, including me, intervened. But a meeting by the Marathas took place around midnight on January 31, and the very next day, Dalits, who had come to mark the bicentenary of the Bhi- ma-koregaon battle, were attacked and vehicles burnt,” he added. When asked about rightwing leaders Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote, prime accused for the violence, he said Fadnavis had assured action against the guilty be it Bhide or Ekbote.
Athawale, however, advised Mevani to exercise restraint in his statements. “Don’t provoke youth, instead, start making efforts for unity and social harmony,” the RPI chief said.
He also defended PM Narendra Modi for his silence on the BhimaKoregaon violence, saying it was not necessary for him to react on every incident. Meanwhile, the Congress demanded resignation of Fadnavis over the Bhima-koregaon clashes. NEWDELHI: In the wake of caste violence in Maharashtra’s Bhima Koregaon, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has asked its affiliates, including the BJP, to scotch the growing differences between communities.
Caste fault lines, the Sangh has cautioned, will not bode well for “future politics” of the country.
The incidents of caste violence were discussed at a meeting of the RSS and its affiliates in Ujjain on Friday. The Sangh, which is the ideological mentor of the BJP, is concerned by the escalating friction between Hindu caste groups. People familiar with the meeting told HT that the RSS has been pushing for i mproving ties between caste groups to ensure there is no division in the Hindu vote bank.
It is concerned that the growing hostility of Dalits towards the BJP will not augur well for the party that is aiming to repeat its 2014 performance in the next polls. Sangh also rebuffed the allegations made against it by the Congress and BSP, accusing them of inciting violence.