Now, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad denied rally in Pune

A day after he was confined to a suburban hotel by the Mumbai police, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad reached Pune on Sunday evening amid heavy security. With the Pune police denying him permission to hold a public rally, Azad had to contend with a small meeting with his supports.

Against the backdrop of the violent clashes at Koregaon-Bhima that claimed one life on the first of this year, the police are extra cautious this time and have not given nod to any organisation to hold a public rally.

Earlie in Mumbai, Azad, also known as Ravan, accusing the Maharashtra government of trampling on Constitutional values and following obscurantist ideas ingrained in the 'Manusmruti'.

On his way to Pune, Azad said he would proceed to Bhima-Koregaon on January 1. On Friday, he was scheduled to address a public meeting at Worli, but the police refused to grant him permission. He was held in preventive detention at a Malad hotel. Ambedkarite and Left parties said the action would sharpen opposition to the BJP-led government.

"The police have imposed an Emergency. The Maharashtra government is not running the state according to Constitutional values, but according to the Manusmruti," charged Azad.

In September, the young leader walked out jail 14 months after his arrest for his alleged role in clashes between Thakurs and Dalits in Saharanpur in May 2017. He has a considerable following among Dalits, particularly in Uttar Pradesh. He is also scheduled to speak in Latur on January 2 and Amravati on January 4.

"I was arrested from the gates of Chaityabhoomi [the memorial for Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar at Dadar] and kept in house arrest [nazarkaid]. We are not being allowed to meet our own father (Dr Ambedkar). I will visit Bhima Koregaon," said Azad. Enroute to Pune, Azad visited the Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar at Ghatkopar where 11 Dalits were killed in police firing in 1997.

On January 1 every year, Dalit and progressive activists commemorate the Battle of Koregaon in 1818 where a small British force consisting of Dalit soldiers held a larger army of the Brahmin Peshwas at bay in a turn of events that eventually led to the fall of the Peshwa regime. The Peshwa rule, especially that of the final Peshwa Bajirao II, was characterised by caste oppression.

This year, Dalits heading to the war memorial were attacked and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's grandson and former Lok Sabha MP Prakash Ambedkar had alleged right-wing Hindutva leaders like Sambhaji Bhide Guruji of Shivprathisthan Hindustan and Milind Ekbote of the Samasta Hindu Aghadi were involved. He called for a day-long bandh on January 3.

"This is a government that believes in repression," said Prakash Ambedkar, adding that while it had allowed Bhide to speak to his followers in Mumbai, Azad had been prevented from doing so.

CPI-M leader Ashok Dhawale said the state was cracking down on Azad while those accused of attacking Dalits were moving scot-free. "Hundreds of Dalit activists were arrested and human rights activists targeted in the Bhima Koregaon case... Azad was supposed to hold a 'Save Constitution' rally at Worli. Why should anyone have a problem with it," he asked.

However, a leader of the Republican Party of India (RPI) Athavale faction said the police were being cautious to avoid a conflagration. "Incendiary messages are circulating on social media asking Ambedkarites to come to Bhima Koregaon with weapons to protect themselves. Allowing Azad to hold a rally in these circumstances could have been dangerous," he claimed.