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Outfit cautions government of another Elgar Parishad
Dalit outfit Bhim Army has announced that its founder Chandrashekhar Azad alias Ravan would address a rally in Pune on December 30, ahead of the 201st anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon on January 1.
Akhil Bharatiya Brahman Mahasangh (ABBMS), Pune has cautioned the state government regarding a possible Elgar Parishad-like incident in the city in the coming months, urging the district authorities to collect information from all the stakeholders involved in organising the event and then grant the permission.
Addressing a press conference in the city, Anand Dave, district president of the ABBMS, said, “It has been brought to our notice that another Elgar Parishad with a different name, however, with like-minded individuals who attented previous year’s Parishad, are planning to organise another such event in the next few months. Not only the city, but the entire state has been a witness to the violence post last year’s Elgar Parishad.”
He added, “We are not against freedom of speech, however, if the motto is the same as that of the previous year, then it might be dangerous to again allow such an event. Therefore, we urge the state government to intervene and interrogate all the stakeholders involved in organising the event before giving the necessary permissions.”
The Elgar Parishad was an event held on December 31, 2017, a day before the Bhima Koregaon violence when large number of Dalits had gathered to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. The Parishad was organised by various organisations at Pune's Shaniwarwada fort where provocative speeches were delivered that aggregated the violence the next day (January 1, 2018), according to the chargesheet filed by the police against those arrested in the case.
Meanwhile, Dalit outfit Bhim Army has announced that its founder Chandrashekhar Azad alias Ravan would address a rally in Pune on December 30, ahead of the 201st anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon on January 1.
The organisation on Wednesday said over 30,000 people were expected to attend the "Bhima Koregaon Sangharsh Mahasabha" which would be held on SSPMS grounds in the city.
Meanwhile, expressing his views over the Maratha reservations, Dave said, “Although we are of the opinion that reservation should entirely be based on monetary conditions, however, we welcome and support reservations given to the Maratha community. Having said so, if after a certain time interval it is found that reservations have had no positive impact on the community, it should be taken away and should be given to another needy community.”
