The Elgaar Parishad was held at Shaniwar Wada on December 31. (Express)
Condemning the arrest of five Dalit rights activists over their involvement in the Elgaar Parishad, organisers of the event and members of the Kabir Kala Manch on Wednesday said the arrests were part of a “conspiracy to link the Ambedkarite movement and Dalit voices to Naxalism”. They also alleged that the government machinery was being exploited to “suppress voices against the BJP and the RSS”.
Police said the Elgaar Parishad, held at Shaniwar Wada on December 31, had allegedly led to the violence in Koregaon Bhima on January 1 during the 200th year celebration of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon.
Those arrested by Pune police from different locations are Elgaar Parishad organiser Sudhir Dhawale, leader of Mumbai-based Republican Panthers Jati Antachi Chalwal ; Delhi-based activist Rona Wilson of Committee for Release of Political Prisoners; Nagpur lawyer Surendra Gadling of Indian Association of People’s Lawyers; Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen; and Mahesh Raut, a former Prime Minister’s Rural Development Fellow.
Some members of Kabir Kala Manch — Sagar Gorkhe, Deepak Dhengle, Ramesh Gaichor and his wife Jyoti Jagtap — were also booked in the case on the charge of “creating communal disharmony through provocative slogans, speeches, pamphlets and booklets” at the Parishad.
“There is an ongoing inquiry by a judicial commission into the Koregaon Bhima riots. While the commission is conducting its inquiry, police are arresting people over baseless charges. The government machinery is being exploited to victimise the people who have dared to speak up against BJP and the RSS,” said KKM member Gorkhe.
He added, “Sudhir Dhawale has been booked in the past for alleged links with Naxals and has been acquitted of those charges. There is a systemic attempt to connect the Ambedkarite movement to Naxalism. This is being done to suppress free voices… the actual perpetrators, Bhide and Ekbote, are being protected.”
One of the organisers of Elgaar Parishad, Akash Sable, said, “As many as 260 organisations had come together for the Parishad. It was a symbol of the unity of the people who believe in Ambedkar and the Constitution of India. The government was shaken by this unity and it is trying to break it. Our resolve is strong and such draconian actions will not deter us.”