Clashes after idol vandalised

■ Opposition parties blame BJP leaders for inciting tension

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar came under a fresh round of attack after violent clashes broke out in Nawada district on Friday.

District administration claim that clashes erupted in Nawada after a deity’s idol was vandalized by few miscreants. According to reports from Nawada, shops were torched and vehicles were badly damaged in the violence.

The state government has issued prohibitory orders and additional forces were deployed to control the situation in the area. Reports of several rounds of firing are also coming from Nawada.

According to district magistrate Nawada, Kaushal Kumar, “Adequate security measures are being taken to bring the situation under control. The incident occurred after an idol was vandalized by few miscreants”. Nawada which is the Lok Sabha constituency of Union Minister Giriraj Singh became the seventh district to face communal violence.

According to reports, at least seven out of 38 districts in Bihar have been badly affected by growing communal tension. Chief minister Nitish Kumar has been facing criticism for his failure in dealing with the situation.

The first round of communal violence was reported from Bhagalpur last week. Union minister of Ashwini Choubey’s son Arijit Shaswat was made one of the main accused in the case by the police and a warrant of arrest was also issued against him. In the last couple of days reports of communal strife were also reported from Samastipur and Nalanda district of the state. According to the police, two local BJP workers were held in Samastipur and Nalanda district on Thursday in connection with the clashes that erupted in these two districts.

The opposition parties blamed BJP leaders for inciting communal tension in the state to polarize the society. According to RJD, intensive communal campaigning during recently held by- elections by leaders of BJP could be one of the main reasons behind spurt in violence.

Tejashwi Yadav blamed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for the communal tension in Bihar. He said, “The recent communal violence is a design to polarize society by BJP and RSS to gain politically. I also want to inform people that Mohan Bhagwat stayed in Bihar for fourteen days and returned after training his volunteers”.

He also called chief minister Nitish Kumar “helpless” and accused him of not arresting people who have been involved in inciting communal tension in Bihar.