Communal elements trying to erase Koregaon Bhima's history of sacrifice: Sharad Pawar

Pune: NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar has said the history of Koregaon Bhima, located in Maharashtra's Pune district, is of sacrifices made by people but some communal elements are trying to wipe it out.

Violence broke out a day after the Elgar Parishad conclave was organised on December 31, 2017 in Pune to commemorate the 1818 Koregaon Bhima battle in which a British army comprising Dalits defeated the Peshwas.

The Maharashtra government set up the Koregaon Bhima Inquiry Commission in February 2018 under former high court Chief Justice JN Patel to conduct a probe into the violence.

Speaking on Monday at a function where advocate Rahul Makhare, who is representing some of the witnesses before the commission, joined the NCP (SP), Pawar said the violence caused restlessness in the state and the country.

"One day, I received summons to be present before the commission. During the cross-examination, some people attempted to force me to say certain things. The history of Koregaon Bhima is a history of people who sacrificed their lives. But some communal elements are trying to wipe out that history," he claimed.

"Some youth took the initiative and brought truth before society. Makhare is among them," the former state chief minister added.

Pawar claimed Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a threat to society and the thought in the latter's mind was "detrimental to equality".

"Today, the rulers are trying to pose a threat to the Constitution given to us by Babasaheb Ambedkar," the former Union minister said, adding it was leaders from the BJP who claimed their party would change the Constitution if it got 400 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

India remains free of instability, which has plagued neighbouring countries, because of the Constitution and all credit for it goes to Babasaheb Ambedkar, Pawar asserted.