According to Pawar, the sedition law should be repealed and Section 66A of the IT Act should be reinstated.

NCP president Sharad Pawar submitted an additional affidavit to the Koregaon Bhima inquiry commission, recommending “legal reforms” such as the “repeal” of Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (sedition offence) and the reintroduction of Section 66A of the Information Technology Act to ensure law enforcement agencies can maintain law and order and prevent riots.

According to Pawar, Section 124A is “frequently overused against those who criticize the government, curtailing their freedoms, and tends to crush any peaceful and democratic voice of opposition,” and “should be repealed.”

Pawar has been asked to appear before the panel, which is made up of former Chief Justice J N Patel and Sumit Mullick, on May 5-6 in Mumbai, where he will be interrogated by the commission’s attorney, Ashish Satpute. Pawar filed an additional affidavit on April 11 to “propose some modifications to the Criminal Procedure Code and the Indian Penal Code.”

He also stated that he was not making “any allegation” of a “political goal or motive” behind the incident.