Picture Courtesy : India.com-
Daily life in Maharashtra came to a grinding halt after a state-wide bandh was called by Dalit groups in protest against the violent clashes between the Dalit and Maratha community, which broke out during the Bhima Koregaon battle anniversary on January 1.
Authorities have stepped up security in several cities, including capital Mumbai, as tension prevails in the state.
Violent protests hit Mumbai, Pune and other cities a day ago, with protesters damaging buses, blocking roads and railway lines and forcing shops to shut after unrest during celebrations to mark the bicentenary of a British-Peshwa war.
School buses stayed off roads in Mumbai in view of the bandh on Wednesday even as commuters in cities such as Mumbai, Pune and Thane were affected due to the shutdown
Meanwhile , the clashes were raised in parliament. Congress attacked the government and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi issue a statement on the issue. “RSS is behind the Bhima-Koregaon violence,” said Mallikarjun Kharge in Lok Sabha. Uproar erupted in the House as soon as Kharge made this statement.
“Whether it is in Gujarat, Una, Rajasthan, there is nothing but injustice wherever BJP is in power,” Kharge said. “A Supreme Court judge should be appointed and he should inquire this. The prime minister should come to the House and make a statement. When such incidents are happening, he does nothing,” he added.
Now, the entire world knows who has divided and who is diving. Everyone knows whose agenda it is to divide India in the name of caste and religion,” Congress’ Ghulam Nabi Azad said. “I strongly condemn this attitude of BJP. They are anti-Dalit. Dalits are being killed day-in and day-out. And yet, they don’t want these issues to be raised inside and outside the Parliament,” Azad further said.
