There was no intelligence failure in Bhima Koregaon, says Fadnavis

Rail and road traffic was disrupted at Amar Mahal in Chembur on Wednesday. (Prashant Nadkar)

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday denied any intelligence failure in the incident of attack on Dalits in Bhima Koregaon that resulted in street protests across Maharashtra, exposing the growing rift between Marathas and Dalits.

Fadnavis said, “There was no intelligence failure in Bhima Koregaon. While the overall developments leading to the attack on Dalits and violence on streets deserve strongest condemnation and investigation, it cannot be solely subscribed as an outcome of lapses in intelligence gathering.” In fact, he claimed, adequate measures were taken to tackle the  situation.

Fadnavis said deployment of adequate force following reports anticipating a large congregation of people at Bhima Koregaon, coupled with alertness helped avert a more dangerous situation. He said the government would not be found lacking in taking stringent action against the masterminds of “such devious designs working to create communal divide in name of caste and community”.

Opposition Congress and NCP have however decided to get more aggressive in questioning the role of the home ministry, the portfolio held by Fadnavis, in tackling the situation. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, NCP president Sharad Pawar said: “An effective intelligence could have helped defuse tension and violence at Bhima Koregaon.”

A BJP leader, however, said, “Intelligence failure is the easiest charge to undermine the leadership of the state. But history shows rift between two communities cannot be contained with deployment of police or adopting coercive methods. It can often backfire.”
Several Dalit leaders spoken to said despite huge anger the Dalits showed restraint at Bhima Koregaon and did not counter-attack Marathas who pelted stones and attacked their vehicles.

Political commentator Bharatkumar Raut said, “Whenever violence breaks out in Maharashtra or anywhere in the country, the foremost issue that comes to the debating table is intelligence failure — whether it relates to 1992-93 riots or bomb blasts or terrorists attack in 2008. While I am not acquitting the role of Fadnavis in tackling the Bhima Koregaon, I just want to point out Maharashtra has witnessed more bloodbath in name of caste and community during the Congress-NCP governments in the past.”

Recalling the 1994 renaming of Marathwada University after Ambedkar, Raut said, “The state had never witnessed such bloodbath, which led to attacks against Dalits across villages. The rioting continued for several weeks. It happened during the tenure of chief minister Sharad Pawar who was then in the Congress. Now, should we say it was Pawar’s failure and leadership? The 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai also took place during Pawar’s tenure as chief minister.”

Ambedkarite Tusshad Jagtap, however, believes any incident of violence is well planned and dangerously executed dodging the mechanism and system.

“While the state has to be accountable, what emerges from Bhima Koregaon is the amount of restraint shown by Dalits. Babasaheb Ambedkar had always exhorted the Dalits to unite and protest in a non-violent manner. Therefore, even after being at the receiving end and larger in numbers, they did not resort to any counter-attack at Bhima Koregaon. The Dalits took to streets only after a bandh call was given officially and publicly by their leaders led by Prakash Ambedkar,” he said.