Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has formally told the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry that a purported letter from Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, which allegedly blamed the previous Devendra Fadnavis government for the 2018 violence, should be in the possession of the state's Chief Minister's Office (CMO).
Thackeray's Affidavit and the Missing Letter
Thackeray submitted his affidavit before the two-member inquiry commission on Thursday through his lawyer, Asim Sarode. This action was in response to an application filed by Dalit leader and advocate Prakash Ambedkar in February last year.
Ambedkar's application claimed that Sharad Pawar handed a letter to then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on January 24, 2020. The letter reportedly stated that the Koregaon Bhima violence of January 1, 2018, was a conspiracy planned under the previous BJP-led government headed by Devendra Fadnavis. Ambedkar's application included a news report suggesting Pawar's letter demanded a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the violence and accused the Fadnavis administration of shielding conspirators.
In his sworn statement, Thackeray clarified his position. "I am not the chief minister now. So it would be appropriate to seek this letter from the current chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and the CMO," Thackeray stated. He emphasized that during his tenure as CM from November 2019 to June 2022, a transparent system was in place to record all official documents and letters addressed to him in his capacity as chief minister.
"So if Sharad Pawar had given me any letter regarding the Koregaon Bhima violence, it should be there in the CMO," Thackeray affirmed in the affidavit.
Legal Proceedings and Next Steps
The commission, initially, had allowed Ambedkar's plea to seek the letter and related documents from Thackeray. This came after Pawar himself informed the panel in August last year that he did not possess a copy of the said letter.
Following Thackeray's affidavit, Ambedkar's lawyer, Kiran Kadam, announced plans to file a fresh application. This new application will request the commission to issue a formal notice to the current CMO, headed by Devendra Fadnavis, directing it to produce the controversial letter.
The Koregaon Bhima Commission, led by retired High Court judge Justice J N Patel and including former chief secretary Sumit Mallick, was established to investigate the violence that erupted in Pune district on January 1, 2018. The clashes resulted in one death and left several injured.
Parallel Hearings on Historical Dispute
In a related development during the commission's proceedings on Thursday, a separate historical controversy was examined. Advocates representing the Vadhu Budruk village panchayat cross-examined retired IAS officer and author Vishwas Patil regarding his novel "Sambhaji."
The questioning focused on Patil's portrayal of the last rites of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. The village advocates argued that the novel's "imaginary narration" differed from historical facts and local customs of Vadhu Budruk, a village located near Koregaon Bhima.
Patil defended his work, stating, "it is expected of a novelist to blend documented history with imaginative storytelling giving artistic life to historical events."
This historical dispute is deeply connected to the 2018 violence. Vadhu Budruk is home to both a samadhi of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and a disputed tomb-like structure claimed by the Dalit Mahar community as the samadhi of 17th-century figure Govind Gopal. The Maratha community believes their ancestors, the Shivale Deshmukhs, performed the king's last rites.
The erection of a board detailing the 'disputed history' of Govind Gopal in Vadhu Budruk on the night of December 28-29, 2017, led to tensions that are considered a trigger for the violence that followed on January 1.
