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Journalism of Courage
Workers of the BJP and opposition parties came face to face at the ‘Nirbhay Bano’ event held at Pune’s Sane Guruji Smarak auditorium on Friday evening. The event, organized by activist Vishwambhar Choudhary, human rights lawyer Asim Sarode among others, had faced threats from the city unit of the BJP over the attendance of journalist Nikhil Wagle. Wagle, a known critic of the BJP government, who had recently made a controversial remark about BJP leader LK Advani being honored with the Bharat Ratna award.
The vehicle with Wagle, Choudhari, Sarode was attacked by alleged supporters of BJP when it was heading towards the venue from Sarode’s home in Deccan area. Choudhari while speaking to The Indian Express said stones and eggs were thrown at their vehicle near Deccan. “The windshield of our vehicle was broken. The police managed to get us safe to the event,” said Choudhari. Prashant Jagtap from NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar group sent the driver Vaibhav Kothal, who is an NCP member, to get them to the venue.
Dheeraj Ghate, President of the BJP’s Pune City Unit, had said that the party would not allow the event to happen and wrote to the city police requesting them to deny permission. Opposition parties, including the Congress and AAP, entered the controversy, announcing they would ensure the event took place and provide security to the speakers.
On Friday, the two groups – BJP supporters, opposition workers, and “Nirbhay Bano” volunteers – came face to face at the venue, which had a heavy police presence. Both sides engaged in sloganeering, with BJP workers shouting ‘Nikhil Wagle Murdabad’ and opposition workers shouting ‘Jai Bheem’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’.
Opposition leaders, including Mohan Joshi, Ramesh Bagwe, Avinash Bagwe, Abhay Chhajed, and Manas Kambale, reached the venue. The event started late as the main speakers, Wagle and Sarode, could not arrive on time.
Congress MLA Ravindra Dhangekar and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)-Sharadchandra Pawar group MLA Rohit Pawar have also reached the venue.
