On Tuesday, a day afterviolence had broken out at Bhima-Koregaon on the 200th anniversary of a historic battle, Congress president Rahul Gandhi called the agitation a ‘potent symbol’ of resistance against RSS/BJP’s ‘fascist vision’.
On Tuesday, a day afterviolence had broken out at Bhima-Koregaon on the 200th anniversary of a historic battle, Congress president Rahul Gandhi called the agitation a ‘potent symbol’ of resistance against RSS/BJP’s ‘fascist vision’.
He wrote on Twitter: “A central pillar of the RSS/BJP’s fascist vision for India is that Dalits should remain at the bottom of Indian society. Una, Rohith Vemula and now Bhima-Koregaon are potent symbols of the resistance.”
Earlier, Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BBM) leader Prakash Ambedkar called for Maharashtra bandh tomorrow to protest the state government's "failure" to stop the violence at Bhima Koregaon village in Pune district yesterday.
Ambedkar alleged that Hindu Ekta Aghadi was responsible for the violence.
He said Maharashtra Democratic Front, Maharashtra Left Front, besides 250 organisations, have supported tomorrow's shutdown.
Ambedkar, the grandson of Dalit icon B R Ambedkar, has appealed for peace during the bandh period.
Referring to the caste clashes in Bhima Koregaon, Ambedkar ruled out any conflict between Marathas and Dalits.
"If there was any tension, the 200th anniversary commemoration of the Bhima Koregaon battle would not have taken place. Yesterday's programme was organised by Sambhaji Brigade (a Maratha organisation)," he said while addressing a press conference here.
He alleged the trouble occurred because of Hindu Ekta Aghadi and Shivraj Pratishthan, headed by Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide, respectively.
"Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Sabha (ABHS), Peshwa heirs, had opposed the event. We held talks with ABHS after which they decided against opposing," he said.
The event to mark 200th anniversary of the Bhima Koregaon battle in Pune district, in which forces of the East India Company defeated Peshwa's army, was marred by incidents of violence yesterday, with at least one person was killed.
Dalit leaders commemorate the British victory, as it is believed that soldiers from the Mahar community -- then considered untouchable -- were part of the East India Company's forces.
Ambedkar alleged that villagers were provoked by the Shivraj Pratisthan while the Hindu Ekta Agadhi hurled stones at people going towards the Koregaon war memorial.
He demanded that various types of grants and subsidies being given by the government to villages along Koregaon, Shiroor and Chakan, be stopped.
Ambedkar said a judicial probe ordered by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis into the violence should be headed by chief justice of high court and not by a sitting judge.
A news channel journalist was attacked by a group of protesters in the Amar Mahal area. However, he escaped unhurt, eyewitnesses said.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Priyadarshini, Kurla, Sidharth Colony and Amar Mahal areas on the Eastern Express Highway, took out processions and raised slogans against the government and the administration, he said.
The protesters stopped local train services at the Govandi and Chembur railway stations of the Harbour Line.
Central Railway's Chief PRO Sunil Udasi said the agitators came out on tracks and stopped the suburban services, though the railways has nothing to do with the incident.
The event to mark 200th anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle, in which forces of the East India Company defeated Peshwa's army, was yesterday marred by incidents of violence, in which one person was killed.
Dalit leaders commemorate the British victory, as it is believed that soldiers from the Mahar community -- then considered untouchable -- were part of the East India Company's forces.
However, some right-wing groups in Pune had expressed opposition to celebration of the British victory.
Meanwhile, in suburban Mulund, shop owners complied with the request of protesters to shut their establishments, a police official said.
In the Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar, some angry protesters pelted a bus with stones, breaking its window panes, according to sources.
Heavy security has been deployed in the eastern suburbs to check any untoward incidents, a senior police official said.
The Mumbai police issued a statement appealing people not to believe in rumours and to verify facts with the police before posting anything on social media.
The police said vehicular movement on the Eastern Express Highway was affected due to the protests in the morning, but later it was normal.
The vehicular movement was also hit at the Chembur Naka, police said, appealing people not to panic.
With inputs from PTI
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