Congress, other parties responsible for disrupting communal harmony: BJP tears into Opposition's joint statement

"The joint statement is fake," BJP's Gaurav Bhatia said after leaders of 13 Opposition parties in a joint statement expressed deep concern over the "growing incidents of hate speech and recent outburst of communal violence" in the country.

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Gaurav Bhatia on Saturday (April 16, 2022) reacted strongly to the joint statement of 13 Opposition leaders over the recent incidents of communal violence and said that Congress and other parties disrupt harmony among communities. 

The BJP spokesperson also accused the Opposition leaders of duplicity, citing a spate of arson and communal violence in West Bengal while the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which is also part of the joint statement, rules the state. 

"West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is a signatory to the joint statement. But violence is taking place on a large scale in West Bengal. Such duplicity only shows that the Opposition parties, including Congress, whether they`re in power or in Opposition, are responsible for disrupting the harmony while also indulging in arson," Bhatia said.

The reaction came after 13 Opposition parties, including Congress, issued a joint statement and called upon the people to maintain peace and harmony in the wake of recent incidents of violence witnessed in different parts of the country. 

Claiming that the actions of the opposition parties are opposite to what they have stated in the joint statement, Bhatia charged them of practising "appeasement politics". 

Today all opposition parties incl Congress have given a joint appeal but, this appeal is as fake as the intentions of Congress & opposition. Today, people are asking you, why the main accused of Karauli violence has not been arrested even after 14 days: BJP spox Gaurav Bhatia pic.twitter.com/lUXxy7n5R0

— ANI (@ANI) April 16, 2022

"The joint statement is fake. People are questioning (interim president of Congress) Sonia Gandhi for her silence over Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan CM) failing to nab prime accused Matlub Ahmed in the Karauli violence? Why is he absconding for 14 days? Your appeal seeks strict action against rioters. But this is not happening in Karauli. Is this because you want to practice appeasement politics? Actions are opposite to words used in the joint statement," he said.

Citing an example of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who ordered the Khargone administration to demolish illegal buildings of the accused in the violence that erupted on the occasion of Ram Navami, Bhatia hit out at Rahul Gandhi for calling the demolition "bulldozer of hatred".

"You are not taking action in the state where you are in power. In Madhya Pradesh where you`re in opposition, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has taken strict action. The accused has been arrested. Their illicit properties were brought down (with a bulldozer). Rahul Gandhi called it a bulldozer of hatred. You stand with the rioters and break the morale of the men in uniform," he said.

Earlier, expressing deep concern over the "growing incidents of hate speech and recent outburst of communal violence" in the country, leaders of 13 Opposition parties in a joint statement on Saturday had demanded stringent punishment against the perpetrators of communal violence.

Sonia Gandhi (Congress), Sharad Pawar (NCP), Mamata Banerjee (TMC), MK Stalin (DMK), CPI (M)'s Sitaram Yechury, Farooq Abdullah (NC), Tejashwi Yadav (RJD), D Raja (CPI), Debabrata Biswas (Forward Bloc), Manoj Bhattacharya (RSP), PK Kunhalikutty (IUML), and CPI (ML)`s Dipankar Bhattacharya issued the joint statement. 

The 13 leaders alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been silent on the spate of communal violence and said that he has "failed to speak against the words and actions of those who propagate bigotry and those who, by their words and actions, incite and provoke our society".

(With agency inputs)