Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the opposition traded fierce attacks Tuesday, hours after violence in Nagpur over calls to move the tomb of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb out of the state.
Mr Fadnavis and his deputy, Eknath Shinde, claimed a “premeditated conspiracy… to target specific houses and establishments” and said ‘Chhava’, a new Hindi movie about the war between Chhatrapati Shivaji’s son, Sambhaji, and Aurangzeb’s Mughal forces, had “ignited people’s anger”.
The Chief Minister blamed the violence on rumours spread Monday evening – of a religious symbol on a symbolic grave – and told the Assembly, “We got a trolley of stones, indicating planning, and some specified houses and institutions were targeted. One Deputy Commissioner was attacked with an ax… those who took the law into their hands will not be spared. Attacks on the police will not be tolerated.”
Describing what he said was the sequence of events, the Chief Minister said, “Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal held an agitation to press for removal of Aurangzeb’s grave… they raised slogans like ‘remove Aurangzeb’s grave’ and burnt a symbolic grave with bundles of grass…”
“Later a rumour was spread – that the symbolic grave had religious text on the cloth covering it. After namaz a crowd of 250 people came to the place and started shouting slogans. When people started saying they would set vehicles on fire, police used force.”
He said the Muslim protesters’ complaint – against the Bajrang Dal – had been “accepted”.
Mr Shinde – who was Chief Minister till a demotion following last year’s election – backed his boss, claiming a “pre- planned conspiracy to target people belonging to a specific community”.
However, his remarks, to reporters outside the Assembly, were much stronger, including a declaration that “patriotic Muslims will never support Aurangzeb” and branding those praising him “traitors” and calling his grave – in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, earlier called Aurangabad – a “blot on Maharashtra”.
“Who is Aurangzeb? Is he a saint? Has he done any good work? One should read the history of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and watch ‘Chhava’. They tortured Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj for 40 days. Aurangzeb was a traitor…protestors are protesting for the pride of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj”.
Neither Mr Fadnavis nor Mr Shinde referred specifically to the opposition in their comments, but Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske was rather more straightforward, declaring, “Opposition leaders in Maharashtra had been saying there will be riots. This looks like conspiracy of the opposition.”
Nagpur’s Lok Sabha MP, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, was more circumspect in his remarks, saying “certain rumours” had led to religious tension in the city. “The city is known for maintaining peace in such matters. I urge my brothers not to believe rumours… ” he said in a video released by his office.
Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray has led the opposition’s pushback, accusing the BJP-led ruling alliance of “an attempt to make a Manipur of Maharashtra”. “We don’t see any tourism… with such an environment, a similar trend might take place here,” he said, referring to nearly two years of ethnic violence in the BJP-ruled state, which has seen 250 people killed and nearly 50,000 displaced.
The violence in Manipur has been frequently flagged by the BJP’s critics. Last month, after N Biren Singh quit as Chief Minister, Rahul Gandhi said, “… Biren Singh instigated division in Manipur. PM allowed him to continue despite the violence, loss of life, and destruction of the idea of India in Manipur.”
