Dalit movementis not Maoism, says Prakash Ambedkar

Mumbai: A day after the raids on Kabir Kala Manch members over the activities of Elgar Parishad, Bhrip Bahujan Mahasangh leader Prakash Ambedkar on Wednesday alleged that the state government was trying to shift the focus away from the main accused in the Bhima Koregaon riots case.

Ambekar objected to the police connecting Maoism with the Dalit movement and said that this was calculated to harm the movement.

Alleging that the government is protecting the main accused, Manohar alias Sambhaji Bhide, Mr Ambedkar said the police were misleading the entire probe. “The chief minister (Devendra Fadnavis) said that the raids were targeting Maoists in urban areas. But it is not true. The police statement clearly mentions the name of Elgar Parishad,” Ambedkar said.

Elgar Parishad organised the rally at Shanivarvada, Pune, on December 31, 2017, the speeches during which allegedly resulted in the violence the next day. Police on Tuesday searched the home of renowned lawyer Surendra Gadling, Sudhir Dhavale and a few others. Mr Gadling has appeared in the several cases of left-wing political activists accused of Maoism. The rally organisers have denied the charges saying the state government wanted to suppress the voice of Dalits and (Bahujan) backward castes.

“Also, Sudhir Dhavale, who was earlier arrested for alleged Maoist activity, was acquitted of the charges by the Gondia sessions court in 2014. Apart from Kabir Kala Manch members, others were also acquitted by the Supreme Court from Naxalism charges in the absence of evidence. Hence, the chief minister’s claim about urban Naxalism is absolutely false,” Ambedkar said.