Communal Sentiments Raked for Poll Benefits: Sharad Pawar on Amravati Riots

The NCP leader said that the incidents of communal violence in Amravati was unfortunate and should be probed.

File image of NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

(Photo: PTI)

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar on Wednesday, 17 November, speaking about the recent episodes of communal violence in Maharashtra's Amravati, said that the violence was "unfortunate" and should be probed.

“There was no need to react here in Maharashtra for whatever happened in Tripura. But unfortunately, some people took law and order into their hands. Some people also suspect that another section came out to rake up communal sentiments to take its benefits in the upcoming assembly," he was quoted as saying by The Hindustan Times.

Pawar, who was speaking to the media after meeting the representatives of the Nagpur Vidarbha Chamber of Commerce (NVCC), further said that shopkeepers and traders, who are targetted during such incidents, should be compensated by the government.

Seventy-two arrests have been made in the case concerning the riots in Amravati, during which shops were vandalised and four vehicles were reportedly torched. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and ex-Agriculture Minister Anil Bonde, as well as 10 other BJP party workers, were among those arrested.

The BJP had called the bandh to protest against the violence that broke out in Nashik, Amravati, and Nanded on Friday, 12 November, during the state-wide demonstrations by Raza Academy and other Muslim organisations. The rallies had been held to protest against the recent spate of violence against the minority community in Tripura.

Sharad Pawar Slams Devendra Fadnavis, Says His Statements on Amravati Riots Were 'Unbecoming'

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Pawar observed that the statements made by BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on the Amravati riots case were "unbecoming" of a former chief minister.

“The statements made by Fadnavis in the last three-four days were unbecoming of a leader who has ruled the state. I was also the chief minister four times, but while speaking on a sensitive issue, I have never made a statement as an opposition leader," Pawar was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Days after the riots had broken out at the BJP-sponsored bandh in Amravati, Leader of Opposition for Maharashtra state Assembly Fadnavis had said that the violence was a planned conspiracy.

"This is an MVA government experiment. There is a well-planned conspiracy to create anarchy in the country and a deliberate experiment to polarize minorities against the country's government," Fadnavis had said on Tuesday.

Opposition Alliance Likely To Be Discussed During Parliament Session: Sharad Pawar

Pawar indicated that an alliance of Opposition parties was likely to be discussed during the upcoming session of the Parliament, when the leaders of these parties meet more frequently in the national capital.

"Who will be the leader of that alliance is not an issue. Today, there is a need to give an option, that is what people desire and we will take the support of various parties to fulfil people's desire," Pawar was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

(With inputs from PTI and The Hindustan Times.)