New Delhi: The communal tensions in Haryana since Monday have drawn some sharp questions for the administration from within the ruling BJP.
Union minister and Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh has raised questions about “swords and sticks” carried by participants of the religious procession at the centre of the clashes, while fellow BJP parliamentarian Dharambir Singh has blamed the violence on “intelligence failure”.
Six people have so far been killed in the Hindu-Muslim flare-up that erupted Monday in Haryana’s Muslim-dominated Nuh during a religious procession carried out by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).
The ‘Braj Mandal Yatra’ has been taking place for the past three years, but some provocative videos — by self-styled cow vigilantes Monu Manesar (accused in the murder of two Muslim men from Rajasthan, Junaid and Nasir), this February, and Bittu Bajrangi — are believed to have incited tensions in the run-up this time.
Manesar, who denies involvement in the Junaid-Nasir case, has so far bucked arrest, but said in a social media video that he would be attending the rally (he eventually didn’t, reportedly at the organisers’ request).
This is believed to have angered local Muslims, and the procession was pelted with stones. Members of the procession were allegedly armed with swords as well as sticks, and clashes followed.
The ensuing violence has singed other areas of Haryana as well, including IT hub Gurugram, which is home to many MNCs.
Nuh police has so far arrested 116 people and registered 44 FIRs in the matter.
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar of the BJP and his deputy Dushyant Chautala of the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) have struck different notes on the violence.
Chautala has blamed the organisers of the procession for not giving the administration complete information about the event, while Khattar has alleged a conspiracy in the violence.
Also Read: Two Haryana home guards killed as communal clashes erupt during religious procession at Nuh
‘Distressing’
Speaking to ThePrint, Bhiwani-Mahendragarh MP Dharambir Singh of the BJP said “it is very strange that police did not get any prior intelligence and they allowed the yatra despite knowing that Monu Manesar has uploaded a video on social media”.
“This is an intelligence failure, which will come out in the investigation. How is it possible that more than 500-1,000 people assembled at one spot and started attacking each other?”
Singh said the area had not seen such incidents in three decades. “I was the MLA from this area. Despite Muslim concentration, this area has never seen such violence except once in 1992, when the Babri masjid was demolished,” he added.
“It is distressing that communal violence has created disturbance in this area, which was peaceful even after Partition.”
Singh expressed concern about the potential impact of the communal violence on Gurugram’s IT sector, and the “perceptional damage” in the long run for the state.
“Gurugram has a huge IT hub, and it’s a symbol of India’s IT development,” he said. “If communal situations like this spread here, what message will go to companies working in the city, and what message will it give the world? It’s horrifying and unfortunate that peace has been disturbed in the state.”
On Wednesday, Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh met PM Narendra Modi in Delhi to apprise him of the situation in the state.
He said the fact that the yatra’s participants carried swords and sticks aggravated the situation, asking who went to processions armed.
“This needs to be investigated… who gave them swords and sticks… I am not saying there was no provocation from the other side, but provocation also took place from this side (VHP). Both sides carried arms,” he added. “It needs a detailed investigation. Some people said there was a video uploaded that ‘your damad (son-in-law) is coming, stop it if you can’.”
Karnal MP Arvind Sharma of the BJP also questioned the lack of administrative intelligence, but blamed the “other community” for the communal violence.
“It looks like a conspiracy by the other community,” he told ThePrint. “How come there were piles of stones stored in houses, how come people started attacking the procession… there was preparation to attack the procession,” he said. “It looks like a pre-planned conspiracy”.
The state government, he added, is investigating the whole incident.
“The police and administration did not anticipate such violence. The yatra has been taking place for years. Why did violence erupt this year? These things need to be investigated.”
Sonepat MP and BJP leader Ramesh Chander Kaushik raised concern about the flare-up denting the state’s image and its peace.
“Such a situation has never happened in Haryana despite its Muslim population,” he told ThePrint. “It looks like the administration did not have proper intelligence. Only an investigation will reveal who started the violence.”
CM, deputy speak in different voices
The CM and his deputy have given divergent statements on their reading of the violence, at a time when ties between allies BJP and JJP have been frosty in the run-up to next year’s assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
Speaking to the media, Deputy CM Chautala said the “yatra has been happening for [many] years”, adding that the “organiser [this time] did not give complete information to the administration, which resulted in the violence”.
“The administration did not foresee such a situation. It’s the first time that Haryana has seen a situation like this,” he added. “We have a good population of Muslims from Yamuna Nagar to Nuh. They have served a Hindu king in the past.”
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Khattar and Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij have alleged a conspiracy behind the communal flare-up.
“It looks like a conspiracy,” said Vij. “The way stones and weapons and bullets were found… We will conduct an inquiry to find the real reason and people involved.”
Khattar said some people “conspired to carry out an attack on the yatris and police”.
“Violent incidents were reported at several places. There seems to be a big conspiracy,” he added.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
Also Read: Shops burnt, imam killed, mosque torched — how Nuh clashes spawned targeted violence in Gurugram