'Amravati Riots a Conspiracy, Experiment To Polarise Country': Devendra Fadnavis

BJP leader Fadnavis has alleged the involvement of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the riots.

File image of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

(Photo: PTI)

Days after riots broke out at a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-sponsored bandh in Amravati, Leader of Opposition for Maharashtra state Assembly Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday, 16 November, said that the violence was a planned conspiracy.

Alleging the involvement of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the matter, BJP leader Fadnavis said:

"This is an MVA government experiment. There is a well-planned conspiracy to create anarchy in the country and a deliberate experiment to polarize minorities against the country's government."

The remarks were made after a meeting of the BJP's state executive meeting in Mumbai on Tuesday.

The remarks also come a day after Shiv Sena's mouthpiece Saamana wrote in its editorial that while the BJP government in Tripura is losing its popularity, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee has made inroads in the state.

Due to this, the editorial says, the BJP has resorted to its traditional ways of inciting religious sentiments to keep a grasp on power.

Meanwhile, 72 arrests have been made in the case concerning the riots in Amravati, during which shops were vandalised and four vehicles were reportedly torched. BJP leader and ex-Agriculture Minister Anil Bonde as well as 10 other BJP party workers were among those arrested.

The BJP had called the bandh to protest against the violence that broke out in Nashik, Amravati, and Nanded on Friday, 12 November, during the state-wide demonstrations and rallies by Raza Academy and other Muslim organisations.

Opposition Attempting To Polarise the Country: Devendra Fadnavis

Alluding to the recent unrest in Tripura wherein property belonging to the Muslim community was allegedly attacked during rallies of Hindu groups, Fadnavis said:

"On 26 October, if Hindus are persecuted in Bangladesh, a rally is held in Tripura in support of Hindus, in which there is no violence. But from 28 October, some posts on social media become viral, because they spread misinformation about the mosque being on fire. Actually those photos were of the CPIM office being burnt. Similalry, the photo of some books burning in a refugee camp in Delhi have been shared as photos of burning the Quran."

Devendra Fadnavis

Accusing the Opposition of attempting to polarise the country, Fadnavis suggested that the rallies that had preceded the Amravati bandh had been sponsored by the opposition parties.

"Despite knowing that nothing like this happened, Rahul Gandhi, tweets on 8 November that Muslims are being attacked in Tripura. Immediately after that, on 11 November, rallies of thousands are taken out in Amravati, Malegaon, and Nanded. How do so many big rallies come out at the same time without planning?" Fadnavis asked.

"This is why this was a government-sanctioned rally. In this, the shops of Hindus were burnt. Did a single leader of the MVA government raise their voice against it?" he added.

Further, Fadnavis defended the BJP workers accused of violence during the bandh.

"BJP workers never riot or never attack innocent people. But if someone attacks us, we will not leave him. Even if we lose the election, we will not join hands with anti-national forces," he said.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, NCP leader Nawab Malik had said on Monday, that in the disguise of a ‘bandh’ called on Saturday, BJP’s Anil Bonde and other BJP leaders incited a riot. He added that there was a conspiracy to incite riots in the whole state of Maharashtra.

Further, Malik had also accused Bonde and other BJP leaders of having distributed money and liquor to the youth on the first night of the riot.