MUMBAI: NCP leader Jitendra Awhad, who was allegedly on the hit list of right-wing extremists as per the Maharashtra police, today said while he can be eliminated, his thoughts will live on.
"They can eliminate a person, not his thoughts. My thoughts will continue to live on. I have been following a secular and progressive ideology for last 35 years since I left school. If somebody is angry because of my ideology, it is not my fault," Awhad told PTI.
"If somebody does not agree with me, it is not my fault. I have been against those spreading communal hatred all my life," he said.
The Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) today told a sessions court here that suspected right-wing activist Avinash Pawar had carried out a reconnaissance of several persons, who were on the target list of the group to which he belonged, for `speaking against the Hindu religion'.
The ATS has arrested Pawar and four others in connection with seizure of explosives and arms. They were allegedly plotting to carry out blasts in the state, it has said.
According to the ATS, Pawar had carried out reconnaissance of Mukta Dabholkar, daughter of slain rationalist Narendra Dabholkar; social activist Shyam Manav, Awhad and a few others.
Reacting to the development, Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said a similar pattern was observed in Karnataka, where people with intellectual and progressive mindset were on the hit-list of a particular right-wing Hindu group.
"Why are the masterminds of this plot still at large, and not been interrogated yet?" he asked.