Govt biased against one community; what about ‘instigators’ of Nagpur violence: Congress

Nagpur: Maharashtra Congress leader Manikrao Thakare on Saturday accused the Mahayuti government of being biased against a particular community and claimed that police did not allow his party’s “fact-finding” committee to visit violence-hit areas in Nagpur.

Thakare, head of the seven-member committee, also wondered how the government would ensure a fair and impartial probe into the Nagpur violence.

Addressing a press conference here, Thakare said the government had failed to protect its citizens while its ministers routinely targeted a particular community and spread hate.

Action should be taken not only against those involved in arson and violence but also the instigators, he said. “We met Hindus and Muslims here to understand the sequence of incidents and who was responsible,” said the Congress leader.

He accused the police of not allowing the party’s fact-finding committee to visit the violence-hit areas of the city under the pretext of curfew.

His comments came even as Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis promised action and said the government would recover the cost of property damaged from rioters, and if they failed to compensate, their properties would be seized and sold to recover the losses.

The CM also said the bulldozer will roll if necessary when asked if perpetrators of the Nagpur violence will face the “Uttar Pradesh style” action.

Thakare accused the police and government of sharing “half-truths”.

“It is the government’s duty to maintain law and order. But it looks like ministers and the BJP’s frontal organisations have taken up the task of destroying peace in the state. Nagpur city has never seen such violence. It had always been peaceful,” he said.

The violence in the Vidarbha region’s biggest city erupted on March 17, after rumours spread that a ‘chadar’ with religious inscriptions had been burnt during protests led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) demanding the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Thirty-three police personnel, including three Deputy Commissioner of Police-rank officers, were injured due to the riots.

Thakre claimed that nobody would react to a protest demanding the removal of Aurangazeb’s grave. “Why permission was given for a protest aiming to hurt religious sentiment and faith. Ideally, police do not allow any attempt to disturb peace in society,” he said.

“Along with a replica of Aurangzeb’s grave, a green ‘chadar’ with verses from the Quran was burnt and there is evidence,” he said.

Thakare said CM Fadnavis had claimed that there was a conspiracy behind the violence. “If there was a conspiracy, then what is the government for? The governor should dismiss the government if it fails to protect all communities,” he said.

The Congress leader asked why cases should be registered against only those who pelted stones. “What action has been taken against those who instigated the violence,” he asked, demanding that innocent people should not be targeted.

Vikas Thakre, local MLA and a member of the Congress committee, urged the police to allow markets to operate in the affected areas and called for the formation of “all-faith peace committees” in those localities.

When reporters asked Akola MLA Sajid Pathan if he was the one Fadnavis referred to with the claim that “one of the members of the visiting panel is an accused in the Akola violence case”, the legislator said the BJP must find out if it has been proved in the court.

“The BJP is crossing all limits of telling lies. I have come here with a message of peace and allegations are being levelled against me. Instead of focusing on restoring peace in the city, the irony is that discussions are being held about who should be on the committee,” said Pathan.

According to Fadnavis, 104 individuals have been identified so far, following an analysis of CCTV footage and video recordings. Action has been initiated against 92 people, including 12 minors, he said earlier.