Sambhaji Bhide at it again: BJP on the defensive as Oppn finds ammo

As the Opposition protested vociferously against the comments, hitting the streets on Sunday, the BJP also seemed to be on the defensive. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis referred to the controversy Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had triggered last year during the Bharat Jodo Yatra when he targeted Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar.

Denying any links between Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan and the BJP, the BJP leader told reporters in Nagpur, “I fully condemn the statement of Sambhaji Bhide. Mahatma Gandhi is the Father of the Nation and a ‘mahanayak’ of the freedom struggle. Making such a statement against a ‘mahanayak’ is totally unacceptable. I am making it clear that Sambhaji Bhide or anyone else cannot make such statements as it creates anger among people, who will never tolerate such an insult, whether of Gandhi ji or Veer Savarkar. Police will take appropriate action in the case.”

State BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said, “It is wrong to associate Bhide with the BJP. There is no link. Those making such association should study and present their views.”

The Opposition first took up the matter on Friday when former CM Prithviraj Chavan of the Congress raised the issue in the state Assembly and the Opposition called for Bhide’s arrest. “A person called Bhide in Amravati made shameless and derogatory remarks about the Father of the Nation, which will spread hatred in society,” Chavan said. Senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat said, “How can he roam free after making such objectionable comments against Mahatma Gandhi?”

The Congress and the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Sunday took to the streets in several parts of Maharashtra to demand Bhide’s arrest. NCP leader Jayant Patil demanded the registration of a criminal case against the Hindutva activist.

Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) president Prakash Ambedkar said, “Bhide’s politics is part of the larger right-wing agenda. Without the political patronage of mainstream parties, would he have survived?” Ambedkar claimed that Bhidhe’s politics helps the RSS and the BJP push their agenda. Ambedkar also criticised the Congress and the NCP for failing to crack the whip on Bhide when they were in power.

Bhide has a sizable following among hardliners in west Maharashtra’s Sangli, Satara, Kolhapur, Pune, and Belgaum districts. A senior BJP functionary said, “Bhide was an RSS activist in the past, before he formed his own organisation, SPH, in the 1980s. He is based in Sangli. His central work is to preach the life and work of iconic Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his illustrious warrior son Sambhaji Maharaj.”

Bhide and another right-wing hardliner by the name of Milind Ekbote were named in an FIR in January 2018 for their alleged role in the violence in Bhima Koregaon, near Pune. The violence erupted during an annual event that Dalits organise to commemorate the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. Later that year, in March, Fadnavis, then the CM, said, “Based on available evidence and eyewitness accounts, there is nothing to substantiate the role of Sambhaji Bhide in the Bhima Koregaon riots. The state government considers everybody equal before the law. And nobody taking law in their hands will be spared.”

Last May, the Pune Rural Police cleared Bhide, telling the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission that it had found no evidence against him and was dropping his name from the case.

Bhima Koregaon was not the first time that Bhide was accused of indulging in violence. In 2008, members of his outfit ransacked cinema halls for screening the film Jodha Akbar, which they had labelled “anti-Hindu”. The following year, members of his outfit were linked to the riots in Miraj in Sangli that started over the erection of an arc depicting Shivaji killing the Adilshahi commander Afzal Khan. In 2017, an FIR was lodged against Bhide and activists for allegedly obstructing a procession in Pune. In the Miraj case, police later arrested a local NCP leader for masterminding the riots. The cases related to the protest against Jodha Akbar were dropped by the government.

A couple of years ago, Bhide invited sharp criticism for claiming that if a married couple eats mangoes from his orchard, they would be blessed with a male child. The comments led to a series of PILs and police complaints being filed against the Hindutva activist.

This year, ahead of the annual pilgrimage by warkaris — devotees of Lord Vitthal — to the temple town of Pandharpur, Bhide demanded the imposition of a dress code. “All (Hindu) clergymen and warkaris, as well as those visiting Pandharpur, should wear the traditional dhoti,” he said, pointing out that trousers and shirts are of British origin. “Why shouldn’t Indians coming to Pandharpur uphold traditional culture and attire?”