The CPI-M, has, through a statement, strongly condemned the spate of hate crimes against Indian Muslims in the period since the election results were announced.
The statement issued on June 27, states that, in the central state of Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur, three Muslim men transporting bullocks were branded as cow-smugglers and killed by so-called cow-vigilantes. In Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, a Muslim man was beaten to death on allegations of theft. Both states are ruled by the majoritarian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The statement thereafter lists the recent incidents.
In Mandala, Madhya Pradesh, eleven houses of Muslims were demolished within 24 hours after alleged reports of “beef” being recovered from their refrigerators.
In Lucknow’s Akbarnagar, a predominantly Muslim area, homes of over a thousand families were bulldozed for the construction of the river front. People belonging to the Hindu community in the neighbourhood have come out in open protest against the allotment of a flat to a Muslim woman in in a low-income group housing complex under the Chief Minister’s Housing Scheme in Gujarat’s Vadodara.
MP and Gujarat too are ruled by the BJP.
In Himachal Pradesh’s Nahan, the shop of a Muslim was looted and vandalised after allegations that he had sacrificed a cow during Eid-al-Adha. A case has also been registered against him for the alleged cow slaughter. All the other 16 Muslim shop-owners in the town have been forced to flee following the incident. Himachal Pradesh (HP) is ruled by the Indian National Congress.
In Delhi’s Sangam Vihar there are reports of residents fleeing the area after provocative speeches made by members of Hindutva outfits, following the recovery of a cow carcass near a place of worship. Such sharpening of communal assaults following the setbacks suffered by the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections highlight the fact that the BJP and the Hindutva communal forces will intensify their attempts at polarization with a renewed vengeance.
The CPI-M has called upon all its party units to remain vigilant against such unscrupulous manoeuvres by the BJP and other communal outfits. Besides its central unit has stated that CPI-M Party units throughout the country should organise protests immediately against the vicious attempts at vitiating the atmosphere and seeking to divert the attention of the people.
Related:
After politicians, hate speech catches on among citizens in Assam
After politicians, hate speech catches on among citizens in Assam