Bharat Bandh : Rajnath Singh Appeals for Peace, Assures Support To Affected States

Picture Courtesy : Zee News

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has said the Centre is ready to provide assistance to all states to maintain law and order as violence marred the Bharat Bandh  across the country .

“The Government of India has advised all states to maintain law and order and we are ready to provide assistance to any state that may require so,” Singh said in a series of tweets on Twitter.

Singh also urged all political parties to help ensure harmony among different sections of the society and not instigate any violence in the states.

“I appeal to all political parties to help in maintaining harmony among different sections of the society. I also appeal to the people, not to fall prey to rumours and false propaganda unleashed by mischievous elements,” Singh said.

Six people were killed in Madhya Pradesh and one each in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh as Dalit groups clashed with the police to protest a Supreme Court order which allegedly dilutes a law protecting their rights.

The violence in Gwalior district, Bhind, Morena and Sagar towns occurred when Dalit groups were taking part in ‘Bharat bandh’ to protest the court’s March 20 interpretation of The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989.

Over 100 passenger and mail train services were and two trains, including a Shatabdi, were short-terminated as protesters squatted on the tracks.

The New Delhi-Amritsar Shatabdi Express was short-terminated at Ludhiana, while the New Delhi-Amritsar Shan-e-Punjab Express was short-terminated at Ambala.

Many trains, including the Saptakranti Express, Utkal Express, Gatiman Express, Bhubaneswar and Ranchi Rajdhani and Kanpur Shatabdi, were stopped ahead of Ghaziabad at Meerut and Modinagar, Northern Railway officials said.

763 people have been detained in Jharkhand’s Ranchi district and 850 in east Singhbhum district.