BJP cries political conspiracy, asks governor to set up SIT

: Alleging that the Phagwara clash and the violent incidents that followed it were part of a larger political conspiracy to incite sectarian violence ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, a delegation of Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, led by member of the Rajya Sabha and state party president, Shwait Malik, submitted a memorandum to Punjab governor VP Singh Badnore on Thursday, asking him to form a special Investigation team (SIT) to probe the matter.

Malik, accompanied by some other BJP leaders, also asked the governor to “issue a directive to chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh to call an all-party meeting to deliberate on ‘joint initiatives’ for establishing peace and soothing the scarred relationship of all sections of society”.

Maintaining that it was due to the intense efforts of the Bharatiya Janata Party and other social and religious organisations that the clashes and violence were stopped, the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders rued the fact that the investigation by the local police was limited only to the incidents of violence.

“They are not probing the angle of political conspiracy to incite caste or section-based clashes to polarise the voters for the coming 2019 Lok Sabha elections,” the memorandum reads.

‘CANCEL FIR AGAINST DALITS’

PHAGWARA :Members of the Dalit community have demanded immediate cancellation of the first information report (FIR) registered against them on Saturday on charges of attempt to murder and hurting religious sentiments of members of the Hindu right-wing organisations after a clash over the renaming of the ‘Gol Chowk’ here on Friday night.

A delegation of the Dalits, led by Adampur Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA Pawan Kumar Tinu, and Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) leader Jarnail Nangal, met Jalandhar inspector general (IG) of police Naunihal Singh on Thursday and demanded that the FIR be cancelled.

Talking to the media, he said that police have falsely implicated Dalits in the first information report and if they failed to drop the case against them, Dalits will be forced to launch an agitation.

Meanwhile, a group of Dalits continued their hunger strike here demanding arrest of the remaining Hindu right-wing organisation members, who were booked by the police on Saturday.

Around 100 people, including 33 by name, were booked under Sections 307 (punishment for attempt to murder), 295A (hurting religious sentiments), 392 (robbery), 353 (assault), 186, 427, 148 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and provisions of the Arms Act and the National Highways Act.

STATE BJP CHIEF SHWAIT MALIK ALSO ASKS GOVERNOR TO TELL CM TO CALL ALLPARTY MEETING TO DELIBERATE ON ‘JOINT INITIATIVES’ FOR ESTABLISHING PEACE IN THE CITY