NEW DELHI, April 16, 2022: Indian opposition parties have in a statement condemned the communal violence in the country and appealed for peace. It says “official patronage” for miscreants and anti-social elements against whom “no meaningful and strong action is being taken.”
A report in gonewsindia.com says, “The letter also condemns the use of social media and audio-visual media to indulge in such activities, again with “official patronage”. Recent events, such as widespread violence on Ram Navami which was followed up by state action against Muslims accused of rioting, have been perpetrated by “private armed mobs” which enjoy state protection.
This comes on the same day as Sonia Gandhi’s op-ed in the Indian Express titled ‘The virus is among us’ which also condemns communal polarization, bigotry, lack of opportunities, and other issues.”
The 13 signatories to the statement include chief ministers of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, and Sonia Gandhi, the president of the Congress party, along with others. Notably, K. Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR), the chief minister of Telangana who has been vocal against the Modi government for issues of communal tensions, unemployment, and procurement from farmers, is missing from the signatories along with Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose residence was recently targeted for vandalism by BJP youth wing members for speaking against the movie Kashmir Files.
