Nueva Delhi: The Maharashtra Congress accused the Government of Mahayuti’s prejudices against a particular community and said that the police did not allow the “investigation” committee of their party to visit areas affected by violence in Nagpur.
The leader of the Congress, Manikrao Thakare, who directs the committee of seven members of the party, questioned how the Government would guarantee a fair and impartial investigation into violence. When heading to a press conference, he criticized the Fadnavis government for not protecting its citizens, claiming that their ministers routinely point to a particular community and spread hatred.
Measures must be taken against those involved in the fire caused as those who instigated it, he said. “We met Hindus and Muslims here to understand the sequence of incidents and who was responsible,” said Thakare, agreeing to the PTI news agency.
He also accused the police of preventing the Research Committee to visit affected areas under the pretext of the curfew.
Early in the day, Prime Minister Devendra Fadnavis promised a strict action against protesters and said the government would recover the cost of their damaged property. “If they do not compensate, their properties will be seized and sell,” he warned. When asked about the possibility of an action of “Uttar Pradesh style,” he said: “The excavator will roll if necessary.”
Thakare, however, accused the police and the government of sharing “half truths.”
“It is the duty of the Government to maintain the law and order. But it seems that the ministers and the frontal organizations of the BJP have assumed the task of destroying peace in the state. The city of Nagpur has never seen such violence. He had always been peaceful,” he said.
The violence broke out on March 17 in the largest city of Vidarbha after the rumors extended that a ‘chadar’ with religious inscriptions had burned during a protest directed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), demanding the elimination of the tomb of Aurengzeb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinar. The disturbances left 33 police personnel, including three commissioners attached to police officers, injured.
Thakare questioned why permission was granted for a protest aimed at damaging religious feelings. “Ideally, the police do not allow any attempt to disturb peace in society,” he said.
“Together with a replica of the tomb of Aurengzeb, a green icing with verses of the Qur’an was burned, and there is evidence,” he added.
The Congress leader also responded to the statement of CM Fadnavis that a conspiracy was behind violence. “If there was a conspiracy, what is the government for? The governor should fire the government if it does not protect all communities,” he said.
In addition, he questioned why they were only reserving the stone balls. “What measures have been taken against those who instigated violence?” He asked, insisting that innocent people should not be attacked.
The MLA Vikas Thakre Congress urged the police to allow the markets to work in the affected areas and suggested to form “FE-FEHY Peace Committees to restore harmony.
When journalists asked Akola Mla Sajid Pathan if he was the person Fadnavis referred to when “one of the members of the visiting panel is a defendant in the case of Akola violence,” Pathan dismissed the accusation. “The BJP is crossing all the limits of lies. I have come here with a message of peace, and the accusations against me are being leveled. Instead of focusing on restoring peace in the city, irony is that discussions are being carried out on who should be in the committee,” he said.
According to Fadnavis, the authorities have identified 104 people based on CCTV images and video recordings. The action has started against 92 people, including 12 minors, he said.
