Sharad Pawar to appear before Bhima-koregaon panel on Apr 4

NCP chief asked to depose as he had filed an affidavit

MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has been summoned by a stateappointed two-member commission, which is probing the 2018 Bhima-koregaon violence, to depose before it on April 4. One person was killed in the violence.

The commission, which has sent a letter to Pawar on Wednesday, took the decision as the veteran leader has submitted an affidavit before it in the matter. The NCP said that Pawar will depose before the commission.

“We have decided to call Mr Pawar for deposition before the commission. A letter of request has also been issued in his name. The decision to call him was taken as he had filed an affidavit before the commission,” said VV Palnitkar, secretary of the commission.

In his affidavit filed in October 2018, Pawar had said he is not in a position to blame any particular organisation for the violence. However, on February 18, the NCP chief alleged that rightwing activists Sambhaji Bhide

and Milind Ekbote were responsible for creating an atmosphere of animosity among the locals in the area, ahead of the 200th anniversary celebrations of the 1818 war at the memorial in Pune district, which led to violence on January 1, 2018.

He had said prior to this, there was no history of a rift between locals and visiting Dalits, who gathered every year at the war memorial.

Based on his statement, a Pune-based Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (Rss)-affiliated think-tank, Vivek Vichar Manch, on February 20, filed an application demanding Pawar be summoned for a hearing before the commission.

The Manch had also released a fact-finding report on the incident, blaming Maoists and demanding an inquiry into the role of organisations, namely

Kabir Kala Manch and Republican Panthers, which organised the Elgar Parishad on December 31, 2017, in Pune, which they claimed led to the violence. NCP spokesperson and minority affairs minister Nawab Malik said that the commission has sought Pawar’s time and as per his convenience, the date was decided.

“Since the beginning, NCP is of the view that the violence was pre-planned. The same was expressed by the NCP chief in his affidavit. The commission has sought his time and was informed that Pawarsaheb can come on April 4 as the budget session of the Parliament is going on,” Malik said.

The Bhima-koregaon war was won by the British Army manned by Dalit soldiers against the ruling Peshwas, Brahmin rulers. The Pune Police had then filed cases against activists and intellectuals, linked to Left and Dalit movements, linking them to Elgar Parishad, a gathering held on December 31, 2017. The activists were accused of inciting violence and having Maoist links.