Maharashtra: Violence in Aurangabad plan of BJP and AIMIM to disturb MVA's April 2 rally, allege Sena (UBT) leaders

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Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders on Thursday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the All India Majalis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) of orchestrating violence in Maharashtra's Aurangabad, where a mob attacked police personnel, and alleged that it was aimed at disturbing the Maha Vikas Aghadi's (MVA) upcoming rally in the city.

A mob of more than 500 people allegedly attacked policemen on Wednesday night following a clash among youths. The incident took place in Kiradpura locality of Aurangabad, which houses a famous Ram temple, police officials have said. The incident occurred on the eve of the Ram Navami celebrations.

The opposition MVA, comprising the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress, is scheduled to hold a rally in Aurangabad city, now named Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, on the coming Sunday.

Targeting the BJP and the AIMIM over the incident, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Chandrakant Khaire claimed, "Imtiaz Jaleel (of the AIMIM), (Deputy Chief Minister) Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Bhagwat Karad (who hails from Aurangabad) are friends. It is their plan. The violence is aimed at disturbing our (MVA's) rally scheduled on April 2. People are also saying that the AIMIM is a 'B' team of the BJP."

Khaire visited the Ram temple in Kiradpura and performed rituals on the occasion of Ram Navami every year.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut alleged that tension is being created deliberately and the Home Minister (Fadnavis) should know the perpetrators are.

"The MVA's rally on April 2 will go ahead as scheduled. It will be a huge success and preparations are on for it," he said.

Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, Ambadas Danve, who also belongs to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, said, "We should maintain peace. Since the past one month, I have been saying that efforts were on to disturb peace in the city. The AIMIM has been holding agitations for the last 15 days (against renaming (of Aurangabad). What action did the police take against them?"

The police should act against those who attacked them. "If anyone is attacking the police, then their hands should be chopped off," he said.

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"The ruling parties (BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena) and AIMIM are trying to provoke people. I have been telling since the last one month that the ruling parties want riots in this city for their political gains. AIMIM is losing its Muslim support base rapidly. Attempts to provoke others is underway by the BJP and the Shinde-led group," Danve said.

Responding to the allegations, AIMIM's Imtiaz Jaleel told reporters, "This is being done to hide their failure. According to them, when anything good happens, it is because of them, but if anything bad happens, it is due to AIMIM."

A high-level inquiry committee should be appointed to probe the incident and find those involved in it, he said.

"We will talk about the role of people in this case, but not now," the Lok Sabha member of the AIMIM from Aurangabad said.

He alleged that the mob also attacked him when he reached the site after the violence broke out.

"People kept calling me repeatedly to tell that the situation in Kiradpura was worsening. I went there on a bike and tried to control the mob. I found that people indulging in this violence were not in their senses. They hurled big stones at me. Police asked me not to step out of the Ram temple. I kept sitting inside the temple for three hours...I was stunned to see the police's absence. The CCTV footage will clearly show how 15-17 police were trying to control the situation," Jaleel said.

"I want an inquiry into the incident. All the leaders in Aurangabad should ensure that peace prevails in the city," he said.

Talking about the incident, Minister Karad said, "Some Hindu community members had visited the temple around 12 am. But these people were beaten up by some miscreants, which triggered riots. There is a possibility of involvement of public representatives, especially those from the AIMIM."

"They (AIMIM) have to face the Lok Sabha elections now. Therefore he came to the Ram temple which is wrong," Karad said, apparently referring to Jaleel.

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