Not Pune’s culture: Senior leaders rue recent political violence

The appeal follows two recent city incidents involving workers from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC), where members from both sides accused each other of attacking.

PUNE: Senior political leaders across parties have voiced concern over what they described as a deterioration in Pune’s political culture, urging leaders to keep opposition issue-based while maintaining cordial relations with rivals.

Not Pune’s culture: Senior leaders rue recent political violence

The appeal follows two recent city incidents involving workers from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC), where members from both sides accused each other of attacking.

Last week, BJP workers staged a protest outside Congress Bhavan, during which stone-pelting was reported. Police registered cases against BJP city unit president Dheeraj Ghate and Congress city unit president Arvind Shinde. On Tuesday, BJP workers allegedly attacked Congress spokesperson Hanumant Pawar, following which cases were filed by both sides.

BJP leader Ujwal Keskar said agitations should focus on issues rather than individuals. “We have carried out many protests and made allegations in the past, but that never led to personal enmity. Pune’s political culture has traditionally been one where leaders from different parties meet and maintain dialogue. They argued strongly on issues, but vandalism was never part of it. The rise in such incidents calls for introspection,” he said, suggesting that senior leaders and office-bearers from all parties should meet to discuss the situation. “Opposition is essential in a democracy, but it must remain democratic, not violent,” he added.

Senior Congress leader Mohan Joshi echoed the concern, saying protests in the past never involved attacks on individuals. “We maintained good relations with leaders from other parties. Today, the ruling BJP is disturbing the city’s culture. Physical attacks are wrong and unacceptable,” he said.

Former mayor and senior NCP (SP) leader Ankush Kakade said Pune has long been known for political civility. “The city’s culture is different. We have friends across parties. The late Girish Bapat was with the BJP and I was with the NCP. We opposed each other politically but shared a strong friendship. There are many such examples,” he said, adding that Pune is often cited at the state and national level for this tradition. “The recent incidents do not reflect Pune’s culture,” Kakade said.