BJP Accused Of Fueling Hatred, Communal Violence In Fact-Finding Report
India’s Left parties released a fact-finding report accusing Hindu extremists of provoking the outbreak of violence through aggressive and threatening mob behavior, and blaming the police for allowing the violence to unfold.
“Why wasn’t it stopped then? Why were they allowed to raise slogans outside the mosque at a time when the Roza was completed and a crowd of Muslims was expected?” the report asked.
“They said that a group of 150-200 men were roaming the streets in a procession with DJ and loud noise and carrying weapons since the afternoon. The locals said that they saw people in the procession brandishing pistols and swords. This can be verified through television footage as well,” the report reads.
“Around them were people shouting Jai Shri Ram slogans. The third question is: Does this not clearly show the partiality of the police? The team found that in the entire area, there was no confidence in the police and that it was a completely one-sided prejudiced inquiry influenced by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders,” the report notes.
“It is also to be noted that the BJP has openly praised the role of the police. In this connection, the one-sided arrests by the police of mainly members of the minority community, even though video evidence is available of the provocative behavior and aggressive actions of the processionists, is totally unjust and motivated,” the report said.
The report further noted that Hindus and Muslims have been living together for decades in the area, with no history of communal clashes. The report slammed the BJP’s allegations that Muslim residents of the area are “illegal” or Rohingya refugees as “shocking.” In Maharashtra, Shiv Sena party leader Sanjay Raut also slammed the BJP’s role in provoking violence between Hindus and Muslims.
“They (the BJP) have to win polls through riots and do politics. This is the misfortune of the country. It is not concerned about the country, its crores of people, farmers and the working class,” Raut said.
Hindu Supremacist News Anchor Rides In Bulldozer during Muslim Homes Demolition Drive
In a shockingly hateful incident, anchor Anjana Om Kashyap for the Indian news network Aaj Tak climbed onto a bulldozer used to demolish Muslim-owned homes in Jahangirpuri.
Seated beside the driver, she told her broadcast audience, “You are now watching live images from the crane that is going to demolish an illegal construction.”
Her callous indifference is in sharp contrast to the videos of Muslim residents watching their homes being demolished, including one video of a Muslim woman crying and pleading as she watches her home being destroyed.
As more people expressed their outrage over the clear human rights violations, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi slammed the demolitions on Twitter, saying, “This is a demolition of India’s constitutional values. This is state-sponsored targeting of poor & minorities.”
The ruling BJP government in Karnataka is also considering adopting the harsh measures of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Delhi governments by bulldozing Muslim-owned homes, making it the latest Indian state to consider violating International Human Rights Laws.
BJP-ruled states should remove loudspeakers from Mosques: Former VHP President
Hindu supremacist leader Pravin Togadia, former president of the Hidnu militant group Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Tuesday said the BJP should remove loudspeakers from mosques in the states where it is in power.
Demanding that the Maharashtra government remove loudspeakers from mosques, which was recently made by the Raj Thackeray-led MNS, he pointed out that the BJP, when it ruled in the state, took no such step.
“I would like to request my brothers in the BJP to first remove loudspeakers in the states where their party is in power. You are protesting in Maharashtra, but not removing loudspeakers in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat,” Togadia said, speaking to reporters.
The Union government should implement the Supreme Court’s order on loudspeakers across the country, he demanded.
