Dear Maharashtra, be very afraid. An NCP MLA demands release of Bhima Koregaon urban naxal

Apart from stalling development projects, the weekly tied Sena-NCP-Congress government of Maharashtra has been feared to act loosely on threats of left wing extremism and radical Islamism in Maharashtra. The Fadnavis government had acted firmly against the urban naxals Bhima Koregaon case but the new government, with the Congress and NCP who sympathise with these urban naxals, may seek to undo that. As per recent reports, NCP MLA, Jitendra Awhad has requested the new Maharashtra government to drop charges against urban naxal Sudhir Dhawale, the prime accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.

The Bhima Koregaon violence case had exposed the Urban Naxals active in the country and how the ideology of Naxalism was not restricted to just a few isolated pockets of the country. The Pune Police had filed a charge-sheet, according to which the accused were directly involved with promoting the propaganda of the banned outfit- the Communist Party of India (Maoist), and were also trying to overthrow a democratic government. With an NCP MLA making this bizarre demand, one of the biggest fears associated with the coming into power of the NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena alliance might come true.

The NCP holds both Finance and Home portfolios in the present government, and therefore the Sharad Pawar led party exercises a lot of influence on the Uddhav Thackeray government, and shall practice unprecedented control in Maharashtra in the coming months. The NCP MLA has also made it clear that his party is going to press for the release of the key accused in the Bhima Koregaon case. 

If the Shiv Sena shares the same sentiment as its coalition partner, Uddhav Thackeray might actually oblige and accept the absurd demand made by Jitendra Awhad. This could entail dire security implications for the state of Maharashtra and a serious threat when it comes to the security of the state. Maharashtra security will be therefore the biggest casualty of the NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena alliance.

Sudhir Dhawale is one of the ‘activists’ arrested in the Bhima Koregaon violence case. He is a member of the Republican Panthers (RP), which is an organisation that espouses extremist communism in the garb of empowering the Dalits and the downtrodden. Last year, widespread violence and arson gripped Maharashtra after the organisation of Elgaar Parishad, a one day conference that celebrated a British victory masquerading as victory of Maharas (Dalits) over the Marathas in the Bhima Koregaon battle of 1817. In a complaint, it was stated that the conference was central to the violence that was incited in the Bhima Koregaon region a day after the conference took place. Dhawale, among others, was booked under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code and charged with spreading enmity among different groups. Later on, it also came to light that investigation agencies had proceeded against Dhawale in the past

However, the Bhima Koregaon violence is not just about nurturing caste prejudice and inciting group hated and violence. Later on, the Pune Police also revealed that some Maoist leaders were planning to assassinate PM Modi. Pune Police stated, “Maoist leaders including…Rona Wilson and fugitive Kishan Da were conspiring the assassination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and waging war against the country for which they were planning to procure arms and ammunition.” The accused who were held over planning to assassinate PM Modi also included Sudhir Dhawale. The accused in this case were booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the Indian Penal Code.

The Elgaar Parishad case exposed the worst kind of urban Maoists, who are probably the most active and most insidious in terms of their plans, which allegedly included plans to assassinate PM Modi and to dislodge a democratically elected government. NCP’s plans to get charges against a key accused in this case dropped would be the biggest security threat to the state of Maharashtra. The Pune Police has made a lot of progress in this case, and seems to be taking the issue towards a reasonable conclusion. However, if NCP has its way then all the good work done in exposing the urban Maoists would be turned to dust, and the urban Maoists will once again be given a sense of security and impunity. Maharashtra thus stares right into a grave security threat that confronts it.