As political parties condemn attack on Maratha leader Pravin Gaikwad, Sambhaji Brigade plans ‘befitting reply'

Indian Express

a day ago

A day after activists blackened the face of Maratha leader Pravin Gaikwad, who is the chief of the Sambhaji Brigade in Maharashtra, the outfit said it would give a 'befitting reply' to the attack. Political parties, including the BJP, have condemned the incident.
Activists of the Shivdharma Foundation, which has opposed the name of Sambhaji Brigade claiming that it made an ekeri ullekh (singular reference) to Maratha king Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, allegedly carried out the attack led by BJP worker and Hindutva activist Deepak Sitaram Kate in Solapur's Akkalkot. They demanded that the outfit be renamed as Dharmaveer Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Brigade.
'We will be giving a befitting reply to attack on Pravin dada,' said Manoj Akhare, who is the state president of Sambhaji Brigade's political wing. 'They have started it, we will end it… Sambhaji Brigade will respond in its own style,' Gaikwad said soon after the attack.
The outfit is holding a meeting of its members in the Shivajinagar area on Monday afternoon to decide the future course of action. 'We are all agitated about what happened yesterday. Pravin dada is sober, polite and a down-to-earth leader. He has always taken along all sections of the society. He has never said anything that would hurt anyone's sentiments. Yet he was attacked in the most brutal manner, said Lahu Landge, working president of the Maratha Seva Sangh.
'Today, we will be deciding on a befitting reply to those who perpetrated this act,' Landge added.
Known to be close to Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Gaikwad is the state president of Sambhaji Brigade's social wing Maratha Seva Sangh. On Sunday, he blamed the state government for the attack and claimed that it was a part of a 'big conspiracy' to kill him while comparing the attackers with the killers of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar, Communist leader Govind Pansare and journalist Gauri Lankesh.
BJP distances itself from attacker; NCP(SP), AAP condemn incident
While the alleged attacker is reportedly a BJP member, the party has distanced itself from him. Former BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said, 'We strongly condemn the attack. The BJP has no relation with the attacker.'
Reacting to the incident, Baramati MP and NCP(SP) leader Supriya Sule said in a social media post, 'I strongly protest the attack on Sambhaji Brigade state chief Pravindada Gaikwad. He has played a pivotal role in grooming budding industrialists. He strongly believes in the ideology of Shahu-Phule-Ambedkar. He has exposed the wrongdoings of several people. This has angered certain elements which resorted to attacking and manhandling him.'
Sule said that when Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was insulted by people like former Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Rahul Solapurkar, Prashant Koratkar and so on, these attackers remained silent. 'These attackers are not Shiv premi or Shiv bhakts, they are goons. They have a perverted mindset,' she said.
Sule added that the state government should investigate and find out the perpetrators behind the attack on Gaikwad. 'There is a need to expose the masterminds behind this brutal attack,' she said.
The government is trying to muzzle progressive voices and the attack on thinkers like Gaikwad is a part of that chain, Sule stated. 'The state government should immediately put these perverts behind bars. MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) should be imposed on them,' she said, while extending support to Gaikwad.
Mukund Kirdat, spokesperson for the Pune unit of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said, 'We strongly condemn the attack on Pravin dada Gaikwad in Akkalkot. Certain elements are trying to deliberately spread hatred among the masses in Maharashtra. They want to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in the state. Maharashtra's communal harmony is in danger as those who indulged in breaking parties are protecting such perverted mindsets.'
Kirdat said Gaikwad has been relentlessly working to encourage youngsters to become industrialists. 'When he is working for the society and today's youngsters, certain elements are trying to create impediments in his path. But we are sure that people like Pravin dada will continue to carry forward their good work, unmindful of such attacks,' he said.
'Dastardly attack,' says Congress
Congress spokesperson Gopal Tiwari also strongly condemned the 'dastardly attack' on Gaikwad. 'The way he was attacked, anything could have happened. They dragged him out of the car and smeared dangerous black oil on his face. He could have suffocated… Luckily, a few volunteers saved his life. Otherwise, the attackers had dangerous intentions. The police should immediately arrest them and charge them under strong sections. They should also probe the mastermind behind this. It seems there was a bigger conspiracy,' Tiwari said.
Tiwari said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the Home Minister, should take moral responsibility over the incident and resign. 'When such a big event was taking place in Akkalkot, why were the police missing? Why was no security ensured? This is a failure of the state's law and order machinery. As state home minister, Fadnavis should take up moral responsibility and quit. Such negligence by the police has the potential to disturb the law and order situation in Maharashtra. The Maratha community is not going to remain idle, and the repercussions of the attack will be felt state-wide,' he said.
Rahul Dambale of the Republican Yuva Morcha said , 'I have known Pravin dada Gaikwad since 2000. He belongs to the royal family of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaikwad. He explained to the people and the world the true history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. 'It is this ideology professed by people like Pravin dada Gaikwad which has ensured that Maharashtra has remained violence-free,' he said.