Mumbai: As an uneasy calm returned to violence-hit Parbhani town, the Maharashtra Congress demanded that police atrocities on the Dalit population must end and the Superintendent of Police Ravindrasingh Pardeshi should be suspended immediately here on Thursday.
Condemning the desecration of a statue of B. R. Ambedkar near Parbhani railway station on Tuesday, state Congress President Nana Patole termed it as a grave insult to the chief architect of the Indian Constitution who is revered by millions.
“Such acts of disrespect to Ambedkar have no place in the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chhatrapati Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj, Jyotirao Phule and other icons. It’s a matter of shame for the entire state. We want the SP Ravindrasingh Pardeshi to be suspended and demand that the government should immediately identify the culprits responsible for it and ensure stringent punishment to them,” said Patole.
Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) have also condemned the violence in Parbhani and urged for an end to the targeting of the local Dalit population.
VBA President Prakash Ambedkar spoke to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Nanded Range Special IGP Shahaji Umap seeking an end to the arrests of Dalits and combing operations in the Dalit areas of Parbhani.
He warned that if the ongoing police action against the community were not stopped by Friday noon, the VBA would launch an agitation while appealing to the Dalits to protest peacefully.
Terming the sacrilege of Ambedkar’s statue as an ‘a provocative act’, the JIH President Maulana Ilyas Khan Falahi said that by doing this, “the perpetrators are attempting to convey that the Constitution holds no value for them plus they can do whatever they want without fear of the legal repercussions”.
Parbhani Collector Raghunath K. Gawade told media persons on Thursday that the police are acting with restraint and “nobody who was not involved in the clashes yesterday is being detained or arrested”.
Patole said that while Parbhani was burning, Chief Minister Fadnavis and the two Deputy CMs — Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were busy allocating key ministries or portfolios with no concern for the well-being of the people.
“The presence of people in power who have no respect for the Constitution is responsible for such incidents. The police have imposed a curfew, suspended Internet, and public transportation, used teargas, and baton-charged the Dalits. This proves that the district administration and police failed to handle the situation sensitively,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies — Congress-Shiv Sena (UBT)-Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leaders, plus other parties plan to raise the matter in the upcoming Winter Session of Maharashtra Assembly, in Nagpur on December 16.
At least 40 persons have been arrested by the Parbhani police after the town was rocked by violence, stone-pelting, arson, damage to scores of private and public vehicles, besides other properties in the past couple of days.
(IANS)
