Don’t add to the existing tension, Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu advised Rajya Sabha members on Thursday during a debate on the Bhima-Koregaon violence.
“Our approach should be to see that tempers come down and the situation is brought back to normalcy. We should not accelerate the tension. After all, it is a social conflict,” he said.
The members overwhelmingly condemned the caste violence and demanded an impartial and speedy judicial inquiry to punish the culprits.
Congress MP Rajani Patil, who initiated the discussion, alleged that the people behind the violence were associated with “Hinduwadi” outfits and demanded action against them.
The BSP too accused the saffron organisations of inciting the violence. Veer Singh (BSP) blamed “bhagwa jhandadhari” (saffron flag bearers) and demanded an inquiry by a sitting judge of the apex court.
NCP chief and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Sharad Pawar said there had been no violence in the last 50 years. This time, unfortunately, the massive gathering saw stone-throwing. The State administration should have been more vigilant, as a large gathering was expected in Pune. He said the people should forget the incident and move on.
CPI leader D. Raja said the dalit assertion needed to be understood. “The law will takes its own course. Having said that, the dalit question needs to be addressed honestly. Dalit assertion must be understood in the correct historical perspective. But in Maharashtra, this assertion is being undermined by an ideology that is communal and fascist,” he said.
BJP’s alliance partner Shiv Sena too termed the incident unfortunate, but appreciated the State government's “patience” in dealing with the situation.
Sanjay Raut (SS) said all such incidents should be not linked with Hindu organisations and alleged that an “invisible hand” was working to divide the society.
“It is unfortunate. But people who do not know the history are speaking. The Peshwas were representatives of the Maratha empire and their issue was with the British. The British used ‘divide and rule’ in Mahasrashtra too, as they did in the rest of the country, and that is what we are seeing to this day,” he said.
