A complaint was filed against Gujarat MLA and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani, as well as Jawaharlal Nehru University’s student leader Umar Khalid in Pune for making allegedly provocative speeches at an event on December 31, PTI reported on Tuesday.
The youth leaders were invited to speak at an event organised at Pune’s Shaniwar Wada to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. The complaint was lodged the day violence broke out in parts of Mumbai and Pune after a man was killed in clashes during commemoration celebrations in Bhima Koregaon.
According to the complaint, Mevani had allegedly provoked people to “come out on the streets and retaliate”, PTI reported. “Due to this statement, people took to the streets and tension gripped the city,” the complainants, Akshay Bikkad and Anand Dhond, said. They also alleged that the two leaders had tried to promote enmity between different communities.
Lakhs of people gather every New Year’s Day to commemorate the victory of the English, whose troops comprised mostly of Mahar soldiers, against the Brahmin Peshwa-led Maratha Empire in 1818. Monday was the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. The programme was held outside Shaniwar Wada, which was the seat of the Peshwai, the Brahmin rulers of the Maratha Empire who rigidly enforced caste discrimination.
Protests in Mumbai
On Tuesday, the Mumbai Police said they had detained at least 100 people from different parts of the city, after demonstrators from Dalit communities in Mumbai called for a ‘rasta roko’ (road block) protest. The protestors stopped traffic on the Sion-Panvel highway near Chembur. They also held demonstrations at Amar Mahal Junction in Chembur and damaged the entrance to the Shiv Sena office.
Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of BR Ambedkar, called for a strike across Maharashtra on Wednesday, The Times of India reported. The Republican Party of India has decided to stage dharnas outside all police stations in Mumbai.
Schools and colleges in Mumbai will remain open on Wednesday. However, the School Bus Owners’ Association has said that it will not operate its fleet of 40,000 buses. “If the situation remains peaceful, we will run the buses in the second shift,” Anil Garg, president of the association, told PTI.
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