-
Both belong to ‘Kabir Kala Manch’ — Naxal outfit designated by home department
-
Trying to enforce the urban Naxal agenda through their dissident thoughts
Mumbai – Sachin Mali and Sheetal Sathe, who appealed to experience the Vari at least once and participated in the 2022 Samvidhan Samata Dindi, were actively involved in Naxal activities at Gadchiroli. The husband-wife duo were also arrested under the ‘Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in 2013 as there was strong evidence of their Naxal actions. They are both activists of ‘Kabir Kala Manch’ which has been declared as a Naxal outfit by the home department of Maharashtra. They are both atheists. Suspicions are rife why someone who is an active Naxalite is interested in participating in the ‘Samvidhan Samata Dindi’ during the annual Vari. This year too, some activists of MANS (Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti) who do not believe in God participated in the Vari under the leadership of Avinash Patil, an office bearer of MANS.
For many years, Sachin Mali and Sheetal Sathe have been spreading dissident thoughts in the society through songs, powade. Songs like ‘we set aside the Altars’, ‘a procession of 33 crore deities, but not one to be seen’ are still available online. This syndicate which appeals to discard God is now participating in the sacred Vari to sow the seeds of Naxalism through their dissident thoughts. The Constitution is just a ruse. Nationalists have raised an alarm that the police should investigate all these forces.
Active participation in Naxal activities
The then Deputy Inspector General of Police Ravindra Kadam has informed the media there is strong evidence to suggest that both were actively working with Naxals in the Gadchiroli forest areas between November 2011 and April 2012. In the 2013, Sheetal Sathe and Sachin Mali both went to the Legislative Assembly and surrendered to the police. Sheetal Sathe was pregnant at the time. They are said to have surrendered to avoid any problems. Over 50 letters were sent in from France, Canada, Britain, Thailand, Portugal, and Germany to the Arthur Road Jail and Byculla women’s prison demanding that Sheetal Sathe should be treated well. The police had revealed this information. These give rise to suspicion.
What do atheist MANS activists have to do with the Vari?
Sachin Mali was not just involved in the ‘Kabir Kala Manch’, he was also active in MANS. In a video on his YouTube channel, he claims that when he joined the Naxal activities in 2001 he was working with MANS. In the same video he seeks support for Dr Dabholkar’s work. In 2011 the Deputy Commissioner of the Maharashtra Intelligence Department had sent a list of 7 organisations directly involved in Naxal activities and 55 organisations as Naxal sympathisers to police superintendents and commissioners of all the districts. The Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (MANS) was the 50th organisation named in the list of Naxal sympathisers. On May 8, 2007 the police arrested Naresh Bansode, the MANS president for Gondia district, along with Arun Ferreira and Dharmendra Bhurale. These are enough to raise suspicions about the true face of MANS.
Editorial perspective
What is the work of urban Naxals in the Vari? Why shouldn’t one presume that their intention of participating in the vari is to create divides in the society or to commit acts of terror? What action will the police take?
Congress-led coalition lends support to the same organisations that it branded as Naxals whilst in power!
Mumbai – In 2011, RR Patil, the then Home Minister of Maharashtra had sent a report to the Union Home Department that listed Kabir Kala Manch as a Naxal organisation and the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (MANS) as a Naxal sympathiser. Activists of the same organisations have participated in the ‘Samvidhan Samata Dindi’ in Pandharpur Vari. Considering the relations of these organisations with the Naxal movements, some Varkaris have demanded that the government probe the role of the urban Naxals in the Vari. While the Congress was in power, they first declared these organisations as Naxal sympathisers; however, when the Varkaris demanded an inquiry, the Congress-led Mahavikas Aghadi has supported these organisations. On July 2, the MLAs of the Congress, NCP and Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray group staged a protest in support of these organisations on the steps of the Legislative Assembly.
When RR Patil was the Home Minister, Maharashtra sent a list of Naxal and Naxal sympathiser organisations to the Union government. These names have also been presented in the Lok Sabha. The state intelligence department had also presented a report to RR Patil regarding the same. 7 organisations had been designated as active naxal organisations. Kabir Kala Manch is one of them. And today people from that organisation are participating in the Pandharpur Vari.
Editorial perspective
Does this mean that the Congress-led Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA) approves of Naxalism?
Source : Sanatan Prabhat
