Maratha leader’s face blackened: Parties condemn attack on Gaikwad, outfit says ‘befitting reply’ for attackers

Activists of Shivdharma Foundation — which has opposed the name of Sambhaji Brigade claiming it made a singular reference of Maratha king Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj’s name in the outfit’s name — allegedly carried out the attack led by BJP worker and Hindutva activist Deepak Kate in Solapur’s Akkalkot on Sunday. They demanded that the outfit be renamed “Dharmaveer Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Brigade”.

“We strongly condemn the attack on Pravindada Gaikwad. I urge the state government to immediately put the attackers behind bars. I call upon the activists of Sambhaji Brigade to give the attackers a befitting reply,” said Manoj Akhare, 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.

In the wake of the attack on Gaikwad, members of Sambhaji Brigade and the Maratha Seva Sangh on Monday afternoon held a meeting of its members in Shivajinagar area to decide the future course of action.

“We are all agitated about what happened yesterday. Pravin dada is a sober, polite and a down-to-earth leader. He has always been liked by all sections of 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. Landge said the meeting was attended by Maratha leaders like Purushottam Khedekar, Shrimant Kokate, Ravindra Malvadkar, Vikas Pasalkar, Ganesh Dahibhate, Satish Kale, among others.

At the meeting, the agitated leaders and members called for a befitting reply to the attackers. “At the meeting, it was decided that we will not file a case against the attackers. Let the police do their duty. Our leaders spoke about giving a befitting reply to the attackers. The leaders said there should be no bloodshed, but the attack should 10 times of what was carried out in Akkalkot. We will not reveal what we will do. But our response will be a befitting one,” said Landge, quoting the leaders of Sambhaji Brigade and Maratha Seva Sangh.

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 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.

While the alleged attacker is reportedly a BJP member, the party has distanced itself from him. Former BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said, “The attacker is a BJP worker. Whenever any function is held, he comes with a bouquet and takes pictures. The party has nothing to do with the attack on Gaikwad.”

Reacting to the incident, Baramati MP and NCP(SP) leader Supriya Sule in a social media post said, “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 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.

Demanding security for Gaikwad, Sule added that the state government should investigate and find out who are the perpetrators behind the attack on Gaikwad. “There is a need to expose the masterminds behind this brutal attack… The government should ensure adequate security for Gaikwad. If anything happens to him, the Maharashtra Government will be responsible for it.

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.

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 for 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 statewide,” he said.

However, Shiv Sena spokesperson (UBT) Sanjay Raut said, “BJP has connection with the attack on Gaikwad. All those attackers are seen close to BJP leaders in videos and photos which have gone viral. The attack on Gaikwad has been carried out by those ideologies which BJP has sheltered. Now will the government charge these ideologies under the Jan Suraksha law?”

Rahul Dambale of the Republican Yuva Morcha said, “I have known Pravindada 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.