BJP slams Nitish for ‘targeting Hindus’
BJP leaders submit memorandum to police chief over communal violence
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In a first visible sign of cracks in relations between the two ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar of acting with bias and targeting the majority Hindus in the aftermath of communal flare-ups in the state.
At least nine districts remained badly affected with communal tension in the wake of the Hindu festival of Ramanavami last month.
On Friday evening, a delegation of 13 BJP leaders called on the state’s Director-General of Police (DGP) K.S. Dwivedi and handed over a two-page memorandum wherein they expressed anguish over the way majority Hindus were targeted by the police in the aftermath of communal riots. They also demanded immediate release of arrested persons.
“As per information, 187 Hindus and 23 Muslims have been arrested. It is mentionable that the main accused in the Aurangabad clash, Naseer Khan has not been arrested,” says the memorandum. It also alleged that the administration acted tough with the majority community while it went soft towards the Muslims.
High-level probe
The delegation also demanded a high-level probe into the alleged biased approach adopted by the police during the communal violence. “The DGP has assured us of delivering justice. He said no innocent will be punished while stern action will be taken against the culprits,” a BJP lawmaker Sanjeev Chaurasia who was part of the delegation told the media yesterday.
According to the BJP, more than a dozen party members — the more prominent being Arijit Shashwat, son of federal minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey — were arrested by the police post communal violence which gripped many districts of the state.
“The BJP leaders have put their demands before the DGP and the inquiry is already on but my government won’t tolerate communalism at any cost. The chief minister has never compromised with his principles and ideologies,” Janata Dal United (JD-U) spokesperson Sanjay Singh told the media on Saturday. The JD-U is headed by Chief Minister Kumar.
The main opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) predicted early fall of the government in Bihar. “All is not well with the ruling NDA in Bihar as there is a mismatch alliance in power. It won’t last long,” former RJD minister Shiv Chandra Ram said.
The cracks in the NDA have come to the fore barely eight months after the chief minister broke away from the erstwhile ruling Grand Alliance and formed a government with the BJP in July last year.
As per reports, Kumar finds himself marginalised within the NDA as none of the demands he raised have been considered by the Narendra Modi government.