Mumbai, August 29: Yesterday, police arrested five activists in connection with Bhima-Koregaon violence which took place on January 1 this year. Raids were conducted across five states on eight locations. Police were probing into Elgaar Parishad, a conclave that was held on December 31 last year in Shaniwada near Pune to mark 200th anniversary to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. Raids were conducted at the residences of seven activists.  Sudha Bhardwaj,  Gautam Navalakha, Varavra Rao, Vernon Gonzalves and Arun Ferreira were later arrested. Bhardwaj and Navlakha’s transit remand was put on hold. Navlakha will stay under house arrest till August 29, while Bhardwaj is put under house arrest till August 30.

The political war of words waged after these arrests. Opposition slammed government for carrying out these arrests, while Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed that those arrested yesterday have links with Maoists. After the arrests, Congress president Rahul Gandhi taking a dig at the BJP government at the centre said that it would jail all the activists who are not affiliated to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Gandhi tweeted, “There is only place for one NGO in India, and it's called the RSS. Shut down all other NGOs. Jail all activists and shoot those that complain. Welcome to the new India. #BhimaKoregaon.”

Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Shashi Tharoor also came in support of the activists which were arrested yesterday. He even said that the government had betrayed the democracy. Tharoor in his tweet said, “I have no sympathy whatsoever for Maoism, but freedom of thought, belief & expression are fundamental rights in any democracy. To arrest activists who have neither committed nor facilitated violence is to betray our democracy. This is not the India that Gandhiji fought to free.”

CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury also attacked Maharashtra police for targeting Dalit rights activists and lawyers. Yechury even called the arrests an attack on democracy. In his tweet, he said, “Ever since the Bhima Koregaon violence against Dalits, the Maharashtra Police along with central agencies have been targeting Dalit rights activists and lawyers who have been taking up their cases. This is a brazen attack on democratic rights & civil liberties.”

Meanwhile, cabinet minister Kiren Rijiju slammed the Congress president for supporting the activists. He asked the opposition to keep national security above politics. Rijiju tweeted, “As Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had declared that Maoists are No.1 threat to India's internal security. Now the Congress president openly supports the front organisations & sympathisers of the Maoists. Keep national security above politics.”

On January 1, this year the clashes erupted when Dalit groups commemorate the 1818 battle as the East India Company's army consisted of Mahars, a Dalit community, who defeated the upper-caste Peshwa's forces. However, some Hindutva organisations had opposed the commemoration. Following the clashes,  Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh leader Prakash Ambedkar had given a call for state-wide shut-down on January 3, which too witnessed violence in Maharashtra.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 29, 2018 10:19 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).