Since the last few days there have been several
instances in Maharashtra that are absolutely disturbing – the recent one being
the stone pelting instance on Wednesday, May 17 at Chikhali in Buldhana
district.There was stone pelting during a wedding ceremony after compositions
praising Lord Ram were being played. Similarly, over a Facebook post, on May 13
in Akola in Vidarbha,there was severe stone pelting followed by brawl where a person
died. Immediately the next day, there was heavy stone pelting on a procession
taken out on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Sambhaji
Maharaj in Shevgaon (dist. Nagar). Also, on the eve of Ram Navami, there was
similar violence in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. This series of instances is
nothing but an attempt to prove how the state is unsafe under the leadership of
Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis’s Shiv Sena-BJP government. These
aredeliberate efforts to create unrest and religious hatred in the state.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi government
was in power in the state from December 2019 to July 2022. At that time,
employees of the State Transport Corporation had staged major protest since
they had not received their salaries for several months. It was during this
time only that over 60 employees of the State Transport Corporation had
resorted to committing suicide due to non-receipt of salaries. Barring this,
there was not a single movement against this government in the state. And the moment
the Shinde-Fadnavis government came to power, within 4 to 5 months, attempts
are being made to create unrest in the state through a series of agitations and
morchas.
At Shevgaon in Nagar district,
there was sudden stone pelting on a procession on the occasion of the birth
anniversary of Dharmaveer Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. The police machinery
and even the locals were stunned to see the huge stock of stones that these
miscreants were carrying. They had covered their faces like the terrorists in
Kashmir. It does not need an expert to opine that the violence was
systematically hatched for many days.
Similarly, there were attempts
through the social media to create an opposition for the oil refinery project
in Barsu and fake news that the police resorted to lathi charge on protesters
was planted.One can only imagine the extent to which these people can go in
trying to get the Shinde-Fadnavis government in trouble. In fact, the land at
Barsu was suggested during Uddhav Thackeray’stenure as chief minister. At that
time neither any environmental activists nor any social organizations from in
and around Konkan raised concerns about it.
People distinctly remember how
during the five years tenure, i.e., from 2014 to 2019, when Devendra Fadnavis
led government was in power in the state, violence induced protests and morchas
were being carried out across the state. On some pretext or the other,
protestors would take to streets against the government. Of these, some
protests had even turned violent, with public properties being damaged. Even at
that time cold-headed attempts were being made to ensure that the Fadanvis’s
government is left with no choice but to use force against the protestors. On
many occasions the last resort left with the police was to open fire on the
protestors. Had the police done that, plans to create unrest would have been
successful. The Fadnavis government not even once resorted to firing against
the protestors. The police machinery handled these protests with utmost
patience.
Now those who were under the impression that they will
continue to be in governance for five years got the biggest shock when the MVA
government had to step down from power. They are still unable to digest this
news. And hence instances of stone pelting on the wedding ceremony in Chikhali
in Buldhana district show how some forces are deliberately trying to disrupt
the religious harmony in the state.
Seeing Congress’s victory in the
Karnataka Assembly elections, many Congress leaders have now started predicting
that the Karnataka pattern of victory can be implemented during the forthcoming
Assembly elections in Maharashtra scheduled next year. Let me delve you into
this pattern. On August 11, 2020, there was major riot in Bangaluru following
an offensive text on social media about Mohammad, the Prophet by the nephew of
a Congress MLA from Karnataka. A mob of Muslims spread riots across Bengaluru
where even the police and private vehicles were set ablaze. These people,
carrying petrol bombs, had looted several places. It was later unearthed by the
National Investigation Agency, that also stated in its inquiry report that the
riots were hatched in a planned manner.
Subsequently, the National
Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested 17 leaders of the Democratic Party of India
and the Popular Front of India. Nearly 43 places were raided in Bengaluru. In
this operation, the NIA seized controversial material belonging to SDPI / PFI
and also weapons like swords, knives and iron rods were seized. This was
followed by the Hijab issue in Karnataka when the Karnataka government issued
orders that students must not wear clothing specific to a particular religion,
to schools and colleges.
According to police statistics,
nearly 165 instances of religious violence took place since the BJP government
came to power in Karnataka in 2019 – 16 instances in 2019, 19 in 2020, 32 in
2021 and nearly 96 in 2022. Just a year before the elections, there were
systematic attempts at creating religious polarization. And this led to the
Congress coming to power in Karnataka. Now, once again, similar pattern of
sowing seeds of hatred has started in Maharashtra. And hence, it is our duty to
thwart these vile attempts of spreading the poison of religious hatred in
Maharashtra for petty political gains.
(Article Pre-Published in Times of India Online –22 May 2023)
Keshav Upadhye, Chief Spokesperson
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