Mumbai/Pune, Jul 13 (PTI) Sambhaji Brigade founding member Pravin Gaikwad was manhandled allegedly by members of Shiv Dharma Foundation, who also threw black ink on him, in Akkalkot in Maharashtra's Solapur district on Sunday, a police official said.
The attackers were angry with Gaikwad's reported remarks on Swami Samarth, a revered 19th century saint, he said.
Gaikwad had come to attend a felicitation ceremony organised by Fattesingh Shikshan Sanstha and Sakal Maratha Samaj at Akkalkot, where the saint's samadhi is located, when the incident took place this afternoon, the official said.
"While Gaikwad was in his car, Shiv Dharma Foundation supporters staged protests, threw black ink on him and also tried to vandalise his car. Gaikwad was pulled out of his car and manhandled as well," the official said.
A video of the incident wen viral on social media.
The protesters also demanded that Sambhaji Brigade be renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Brigade, the official said.
Talking to reporters, Gaikwad later said this was an attempt to kill him for his "progressive thoughts".
"I had gone to Akkalkot and suddenly members of the Shiv Dharma Foundation smeared black, sticky oil on me. They attacked me and tried to kill me but this is an ideology. You may recall the murders of Dr Pansare, Kalburgi, Dr Dabholkar and Gauri Lankesh. In the current regime, activists with progressive thoughts are unsafe," he claimed.
"Sometimes there are attempts to break political parties. Then there are attempts to divide activists. When all such attempts fail, such attacks are carried out. We work with an ideology rooted in truth. Our thinking is aligned with the Constitution," Gaikwad added.
The Sambhaji Brigade is working for humanity but, unfortunately, some misconceptions are spread about social organizations, following which those claiming to follow the Hindutva ideology carry out such attacks, he claimed.
Condemning the attack, NCP (SP) Lok Sabha MP Amol Kolhe said, "Ideological opposition should be expressed through ideas. This path of violence is highly condemnable and deplorable."
Kolhe's colleague and MLA Jitendra Awhad offered support to Gaikwad by calling him a "champion of progressive thoughts" and "a fighter".