New Delhi: The Karad Police in Maharashtra have arrested one person from Rajgad Fort in connection with the case of a death threat via email to Maharashtra’s former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. The arrested person has been identified as one Ankush Sorate. The Congress leader received the email after his condemnation of Manohar alias Sambhaji Bhide’s derogatory statements targeting Mahatma Gandhi, his mother and lineage. In his statements, Bhide hinted that Mahatma Gandhi was born to a Muslim father. This statement sparked controversy as the Congress led an attack on the Hindutva leader.Chavan raised the issue of Bhide’s offensive comments during an assembly session, questioning the state government’s silence on the matter. “In Amravati, Sambhaji Bhide made a shameless and derogatory remark against the Father of the Nation, calculated to spread hatred and divisiveness in society. This person must be arrested immediately. How can he roam free?” Chavan said. A police complaint against Bhide’s statement was eventually lodged with the Karad City police station.State deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was pushed on the backfoot and said, “I fully condemn the statement of Sambhaji Bhide. Mahatma Gandhi is the Father of the Nation and a ‘mahanayak’ of the freedom struggle. Making such a statement against a ‘mahanayak’ is totally unacceptable.” Chief minister Eknath Shinde has also said that the state government will take action.Amravati City police have taken action against Hindutva activist Bhide for allegedly making the offensive statement regarding Gandhi. According to reports, Amravati City police commissioner Navinchandra Reddy has confirmed that a First Information Report (FIR) has been filed against Bhide under Sections 153A and 505-2 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).In response to the death threat, security has been significantly bolstered at Chavan’s residence in Karad City, western Maharashtra.Who is Sambhaji Bhide?Manohar alias Sambhaji Bhide founded the organisation ‘Shri Shivpratisthan’ in 1984. This organisation claims it strives to instil the spirit of Shivaji and Sambhaji in the rising young generation of Hindu society, and a Hindu rashtra, as mentioned on its website.He hails from the village of Sabniswadi in Satara district and is the nephew of Baba Rao Bhide, a noted activist of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from Sangli. Bhide was actively involved with the RSS in the 1980s, and then went on to found his own organisation.As per BBC Marathi, when the Babri Masjid and Ram Janmabhoomi controversy erupted, Bhide’s ‘Shri Shivpratisthan’ gained significant traction, focusing on narrating the history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj in alignment with Hindutva organisations’ ideologies.In 2009, Shri Shivpratisthan and some other organisations protested against the movie Jodha Akbar. This resulted in large-scale violence in the areas of Sangli, Kolhapur and Satara.A video where Bhide can be seen telling off a television journalist for not wearing a bindi while going on air generated outrage and resulted in him getting a notice from the Maharashtra State Women’s Commission.Bhide and another Hindutva leader, Milind Ekbote, were also accused of inciting violence before the Bhima Koregaon event in 2018. On December 29, Bhide and Ekbote allegedly desecrated the samadhi of a Dalit icon near Pune, leading to riots in the following week.Their actions took place in Vadu-Budruk in Pune district, strategically coinciding with the gathering of thousands of Dalits in the nearby village of Bhima-Koregaon on January 1, celebrating the anniversary of the Peshwa army’s defeat by British forces, mainly comprising Dalit soldiers. The riots that began in Bhima-Koregaon during a Hindutva procession spread to Pune and engulfed the entire state.Bhide: ‘Its complicated’On Saturday, Congress workers, led by party MLA Yashomati Thakur, staged a protest at Rajkamal Square in Amravati City. Thakur demanded that Bhide be charged with sedition.Anil Bonde, a BJP MLA, raised objections to Thakur’s remarks about Bhide’s lineage. He accused Thakur of instigating emotions of youngsters and attempting to create disharmony in society. He has demanded legal action against the Congress MLA.In response to Anil Bonde’s statement, Thakur reacted, stating that there is now evidence of a ‘nexus’ between the BJP and Bhide. She was speaking on TV9 Marathi news.Now, Thakur too is reportedly receiving death threats.State BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule told media persons, “It is wrong to associate Bhide with the BJP. There is no link.”However, there are layers to being Bhide. He is said to effectively enjoy the support of both Congress and the NCP, with neither anxious to alienate his social base. Locally, too, Bhide commands some support, and in Sangli, Bhide is often seen hobnobbing with Congress leaders.The Congress is calling for his arrest on this offensive remark on the Mahatma, but analysts say it is complicated. For instance, it has been pointed out that the Mahavikas Aghadi did little to prosecute him and Ekbote on the Bhima Koregaon charges, despite having been in power for two years.
