The CPM’s Jharkhand unit staged a protest in line with the nationwide call against increasing attacks on minorities, in over 143 blocks of 15 districts across the state on Wednesday.
“CPM cadres staged protests and dharnas at all major cities of the state including capital Ranchi, industrial city of Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Jharia, Bokaro, Hazaribagh and Dumka. Apart from the nationwide call on issues of communal poison being spread for vote polarisation in states like Uttar Pradesh and Tripura we also raised issues like attack on Kashmiri traders in Ranchi and the delay in punishment to accused of mob lynching which took place during the erstwhile BJP government regime in the state,” said Prakash Viplav, the CPM state general secretary.
Significantly, there has been a spurt in attacks against Kashmiri woollen traders in Ranchi in November with at least five such incidents being reported by the traders in different parts of cities wherein the traders have alleged to have been forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Pakistan Murdabad’.
As per the list prepared by Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JJM), 30 persons belonging to tribal, tribal Christian and Muslim communities have either been lynched or beaten up by a mob on suspicion of cow slaughter, sale and consumption of beef and religious hatred in Jharkhand between 2016 and July 2021, mostly during the Raghubar Das-led BJP government.
“There has been a series of incidents especially in Uttar Pradesh and the recent communal violence in Tripura and stopping minorities from offering namaz in Gurgaon, attacks on mosques and minorities’ residential areas in a planned manner under the patronage of the BJP government in Tripura and Assam and even in Jharkhand too, there have been attempts to disturb the social fabric,” alleged Prakash Viplav.
The CPM leaders cited the recent renaming of a road in the capital Ranchi, which has been in the name of an eminent person of a minority community for a long time, was changed to Bajrang Nagar at the behest of vested elements.
“Unfortunately it was headed by the deputy mayor of Ranchi Municipal Corporation Sanjeev Vijayawargiya whereas the name of a road or lane can be done only by bringing a proposal in the Municipal Corporation. The deputy mayor whom we know to have association with the BJP has done an illegal act,” alleged Viplav.
After the demonstration in Ranchi, a delegation of CPM activists submitted the memorandum at the office of Jharkhand governor Ramesh Bais on Wednesday.
“It was a peaceful demonstration at all the places lasting for few hours. We just wanted to create awareness among the masses about the divisive politics played out by the BJP and the RSS,” added Viplav.
The Hindu adds:
As part of its central committee’s nationwide protest call against increasing attacks on minority communities, the Kalaburagi district unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) held decentralised protest demonstrations in the district headquarters on Wednesday and in the taluk headquarters on Thursday.
Addressing a media conference here on Tuesday, party’s district secretary K. Neela said that right-wing forces have increased their attacks on Muslims and Christians on various pretexts.
“Sensitive and emotional issues such as cow slaughter are used to target the minority groups. BJP and Sangh Parivar leaders, including those in power, are directly instigating their activists to attack. India is a plural society where people from different cultural identities and practices have been living in peace and we will not allow the divisive right-wing forces to tear this social fabric,” Ms. Neela said.
Substantiating her arguments with cases reported from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Tripura and other States, Ms. Neela said that people in power who were supposed to stand with the victims and punish law breakers are doing everything to protect the attackers.
“Right-wing forces led by the RSS have intensified their attacks on Christians in the last few months. The fact that over 300 cases of attacks on churches are reported in the last nine months itself speaks volumes about the gravity of the problem. People in power are openly supporting the attackers instead of punishing them. The Constitution and democracy are under threat under the BJP rule,” Ms. Neela said.
M.B. Sajjan, a trade union leader, said that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai was provoking Hindutva groups to take the law into their own hands by stating that “every action has an equal and opposite reaction”.
“The Chief Minister’s words in the backdrop of increasing attacks on minorities will encourage anti-social elements to take the law into their own hands and create anarchy in society,” Mr. Sajjan said.
Srimanth Biradar, Bhimashetty Yampalli, Sudham Dhanni and Megharaj Kathare and other party leaders were present.
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