The Shiv Sena has launched a blistering attack on the BJP by questioning its role in the Bulandshahr violence that left one police officer killed and another protestor dead. An editorial published in its mouthpiece Saamana, the BJP’s ally said, “Was the Bulandshahr incident orchestrated like the Muzaffarnagar incident before the 2014 polls? The BJP knows that the 2019 elections will not be easy for it. Therefore, has it used its weapon of religious polarisation?”
It further asked, “Was the bloody pattern of communal flare and polarisation of votes spread for it?”
The Shiv Sena’s attack on the BJP comes just a day after a minister in the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh had blamed Hindutva outfits such as Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the RSS for the Bulandshahr violence.
Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar had said that Monday’s violence was a blatant attempt to disturb peace on the same as lakhs of Muslims gathered in Bulandshahr as part of their annual Ijtima or congregation.
Both Rajbhar and the Shiv Sena raising serious questions on BJP’s role in fanning communal tension to reap electoral benefits assume significance in light of latest a viral video showing the stunning confession of Hindutva militants. In the video, Hindutva militants are seen confessing to slaughtering cows and bringing the carcasses to the troubled area to create tension. The protests had later turned violent as the suspected members of militant Hindutva groups had resorted attacked police station, set it on fire with dozens of vehicles before shooting dead the police officer, Subodh Kumar Singh.
On Tuesday, police named 27 members in the FIR with all accused belonging to Hindutva outfits including the BJP. Singh’s sister had later alleged that her brother was killed because of his role as the investigating officer in the Md Akhlaq lynching case.