"Any Politician's Address Shouldn't...": NCP's Sharad Pawar On Hate Speech

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar decried the police actions to slap Section 124A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code against activists, saying that such measures suppress liberty and stifle any voice of dissent raised in a peaceful and democratic way.

Mr Pawar today arrived at Sahyadri Guest House in Mumbai to appear before the Judicial probe commission in the Bhima Koregaon case.

Speaking before the commission, Mr Pawar said, "Section 124A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code is invoked to suppress liberty and stifle any voice of dissent raised in a peaceful and democratic way. I propose to raise this issue at an appropriate forum like Parliament as a member of Rajya Sabha."

"It is the responsibility of the police to maintain law and order and to take steps to prevent anti-social elements from infiltrating and causing disturbance to a peaceful demonstration," he said.

Mr Pawar said, "Whenever any political leader chooses to address people, he should take necessary precautions. The politician's address or speech shouldn't contain inflammatory substances which may cause disturbance of peace, law and order and animosity amongst different sections of religious groups and members of the society. If any political person chooses to do so and indulge in such a public address or speech, then he is responsible for the consequences."

On January 1, 2018, on the day of the 200th anniversary of the Bhima Koregaon battle, lakhs of people travelled to Bhima Koregaon village on the outskirts of Pune. While the people were on their way, violence broke out, leaving several people injured in the attack. According to Maharashtra police officials, two prominent leaders - Milind Ekbote and Manohar alias Sambhaji Bhide - were allegedly the masterminds behind the attack.