Law and order was in a precarious state in Rajasthan, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on May 3, reacting to alleged communal violence in Jodhpur late on May 2, in which five policemen were reportedly injured in stone-pelting.
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Pointing out another incident of communal clash at Karauli in the State on April 2, Mr. Naqvi said, “It is surprising that Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot keeps preaching peace to the entire country but is unable to maintain it in his own backyard.”
Mr. Naqvi was speaking to reporters during Eid celebrations at his residence in Delhi. Jodhpur is the hometown of Mr. Gehlot.
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The situation, Mr. Naqvi said, had deteriorated to this extent primarily because of the State government’s inability to implement law and order.
“The State government has let criminal elements roam around without any fear of law. Their spirits are buoyed because the State government has failed to act against them despite several incidents,” Mr. Naqvi said.
Comparing the situation under the BJP government headed by Vasundhra Raje that preceded the Gehlot government in the State, Mr. Naqvi said the government acted stringently against any violation of the law.
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“The situation deteriorates when the accused believe that they can get away,” he remarked.
Asked about the communal clashes in the Congress-ruled Rajasthan, chief Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, “The Bharatiya Janata Party has initiated a hateful agenda in Rajasthan and other election going States like Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan. There will be no communal riots now in Uttar Pradesh or in Uttarakhand as elections are over”.
“Their agenda is to put issues of religious and communal divide at the forefront so that the issues of inflation, unemployment, progress and development are relegated to the dustbin,” added Mr. Surjewala.