Amid the Balaich riots, the BJP seemed to be unknowingly at a disadvantage. Uttar Pradesh officials and some leaders of their own party are denouncing the applause the Uttar Pradesh government received for arresting rioters during a clash. The BJP’s IT department is also handling the matter as if everything happened because of the BJP. Both the Uttar Pradesh government and the Bharatiya Janata Party have been targeted by the opposition over the Balaich riots. In fact, Sureshwar Singh, MP from Maharishi in Balaich district, has filed an FIR accusing his party leaders of inciting riots. The Mahsi MLA accused eight persons, including the party’s Yuva Morcha municipal president Arpit Srivastava, of rioting, stone-pelting and attempted murder. In this FIR, BJP president Yuva Morcha Arpit Srivastava and other party leaders Anuj Lekwal, Shubham Mishra, Kushmen Dera Chaudhry, Manish Shukla, Pandrik Pandey, Sultanshu Rana were accused of spreading riots. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said his own MLAs had accused their own people of fomenting the riots.
1- How true is the allegation about the role of the BJP in the Balaich violence?
On October 13, a young man named Ram Gopal Mishra was killed in violence that broke out during the immersion of Durga idol in Maharajganj town of Mahsi tehsil. Since then, incidents of vandalism, arson, and riots have occurred. The failure of the Balechi regional government and police to stop the violence and control the unrest is only part of the story. The other side is that the police and administration controlled the violence within two days. In return for the murder of Ram Gopal Mishra, no one from the minority community became a victim. Government severity is the reason behind this. Otherwise, the action must have a reaction. Some say that most of those arrested in the riots were Muslims.
If the government prevents agitation on the Hindu side by arresting Muslims, then it should be something commendable. But the opposition’s political action on the issue overwhelmed the BJP. What emerged was that the government failed to stop the riots, but in fact the riots were stopped. But Maharishi’s BJP MP Sureshwar Singh registered an FIR against the BJP workers, accusing them of violence, rioting, stone-pelting and fatal attacks, proving the BJP’s involvement in violence and riots .
2- Does the MLA’s complaint indicate conflicts within the party?
Going by the police complaint filed by MLA Sureshwar Singh, there is definitely internal politics in the party. The crowd placed the body of Ram Gopal Mishra, who died violently during the Durga idol immersion pilgrimage, at the Bahraich Medical College, the MLA wrote in the complaint Protest at the door. Together with my bodyguard and other colleagues, I found the body that had been placed on the road and then arrived at the CMO Bahraich office and met with the District Magistrate Ms. Monica Rani.
The MLA wrote that the District Magistrate, CMO, Municipal Magistrate were present and he took them again near the body of late Ram Gopal. After talking to the family and people in the village, we started taking Ram Gopal’s body to the mortuary when some miscreants including Arpit Srivastava, Anuj Singh Anuj Singh Raikwar, Shubham Mishra, Kushmendra Chaudhary, Manish Chandra Shukla, Pundarik Pandey (Teacher Shravasti), hundreds like Sudhanshu Singh Rana started raising slogans of Murdabad and started hurling abuses. Anyway, we moved the body to the morgue. Then people started creating a nuisance.
The district magistrate said people were asked to walk to immerse the idols, Sureshwar Singh’s complaint reads. As soon as we came out of the morgue, on the road outside the door, the above-mentioned people threw stones at us with the intention of blocking our vehicle and killing the remaining people.
The BJP MP further said that at the same time, fires were set in the crowd, resulting in broken car windows. My son Akhand Pratap Singh narrowly escaped from that incident. The entire incident occurred between 8pm and 10pm. Everything will be clearly visible on the CCTV footage. Therefore, please register the case and take appropriate and necessary action.
Based on the Ministry of Justice’s complaint, the Kotwali police have registered a case against the accused for rioting, assault with a deadly weapon, attempt to murder, endangering physical safety, assault and other charges. The police have also launched an operation and are busy looking for the accused.
Obviously, nothing could be more embarrassing to the Party. From this, it appears that the BJP may be behind the violence and riots in Balaich.
3-The client was humiliated in the name of the autopsy report.
Previously, BJP leaders and the media had made such statements regarding the autopsy report of Ram Gopal Mishra, who died in the riots, but these statements turned out to be untrue.
The media got the news from somewhere that the autopsy report showed that there were 35 stab wounds on the body of the deceased, and even the nails had been pulled out. The false report not only confused journalists but also embarrassed many BJP leaders. If the PPP’s media arm is either over or it’s time for a refresh, then whose fault is it if the people are not informed about the true realities of government working? Both the government and the party must consider this.
Meanwhile, houses and shops of people accused of instigating riots were hastily posted for demolition in the Maharajganj market. Not only that, a dozen bulldozers were brought to the site and soon word began to circulate that the houses of those booked as FIRs on riot charges were being demolished. In this case, the Allahabad High Court banned the bulldozer operation for 15 days. Since then, officials have now given other reasons for the bulldozing operation. The government was humiliated by the rush of party media and officials.
