Amid controversy over the assault on Sambhaji Brigade leader Pravin Gaikwad in Solapur, Maharashtra Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule denied making any calls to protect accused Deepak Kate. Clarifying his stance, he urged verification of his call records. He condemned the attack and said BJP does not shield any accused, regardless of affiliation.
MLA Chandrashekhar Bawankule. Pic/File Pic
Amid the chaotic situation in the Maharashtra political spectrum, Maharashtra Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Tuesday was seen clarifying that he did not make any calls to save Deepak Kate. Deepak Kate is a man accused of attacking Sambhaji Brigade leader Pravin Gaikwad in Solapur district. Bawankule, while stating his clarification, also said that his call records could be verified.
As reported by news agency PTI, MLA Chandrashekhar Bawankule has been in the eye of a storm after several photos and videos featuring him with Kate surfaced on social media.
The incident happened when Gaikwad was manhandled in Solapur district on Sunday. It has also been reported that ink was thrown on him allegedly by activists of an organisation over his reported remarks on Swami Samarth, who is believed to be a reincarnation of Shree Dattatreya, at Akkalkot village, as per PTI.
Speaking to reporters on the premises of the state legislature, Revenue Minister of Maharashtra Bawankule said, "False information should not be spread against me. If required, call data records of my phone can be verified to establish that I did not make any calls to save Deepak Kate," as cited by news agency PTI.
The state revenue minister, while condemning the attack on Gaikwad, stated, "We may have disagreements with Pravin Gaikwad, but the cowardly attack on him is condemned. We did not support it. It is not in the BJP's nature to save any accused person from legal action. An accused is an accused, irrespective of his political affiliation," as per PTI.
A video of the attack in Solapur, which went viral on Sunday, showed Gaikwad being pulled out of his car and assaulted by a group of people.
The assailants, according to the police, objected that Gaikwad was allegedly referring to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj as "Sambhaji" and demanded that the Sambhaji Brigade be renamed as the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Brigade.
Kate and six other members of the Shivdharm Foundation were arrested by the police for disturbance under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section and were then subsequently detained. After the police issued them with notices, they were subsequently permitted to leave.
Also, NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar criticised the opposition, asserting that Kate was involved in the BJP's youth division and was one of the active members.
In response, Chandrashekhar Bawankule has, however, maintained that the BJP had nothing to do with the incident and denied any efforts to shield those involved.
(With PTI Inputs)
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