BHUBANESWAR: The BJP on Saturday sought the intervention of the Ministry of Home Affairs into the deteriorating law and order situation in the state and the appeasement politics of the BJD government for political gains. State BJP president Manmohan Samal, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi and six MLAs of the party, in a letter to Union Home Minister Shah, said the Sambalpur violence on April 12 is an outcome of inept handling of the situation by a biased administration. “It is our firm belief these attacks were pre-planned and organised. The procession in Sambalpur was attacked at the same place where it was attacked during the last Hanuman Jayanti. Police were aware of the sensitivity and chose not to act appropriately,” the letter said.
Enclosing the FIR filed by the Sambalpur police along with the letter, the BJP leaders said even the police admitted the violence was a well-planned conspiracy by a particular community. The filthy language used by the mob as mentioned in the FIR is downright unacceptable and amounts to a crime that needs to be dealt with as per provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and National Security Act (NSA).
“We are appalled by the biased and negligent attitude of the government of Odisha in handling the incident. We wonder why the police did not arrest the conspirators beforehand, knowing their plot, especially when similar incidents have occurred in the past,” the letter said adding, the state government had prior information of possible strife during the celebration.
The letter further stated, “It seems the conspirators have the backing of the ruling party of Odisha for their political motives.” Condemning the incident and arrest of innocent members of the procession who are victims of the attacks, the BJP leaders demanded an impartial investigation by the National Investigating Agency (NIA) to unravel the conspiracy of attack and strict action against the perpetrators of the violence. The BJP leaders urged Shah to direct the state government to take necessary measures to restore law and order, ensure communal harmony and prevent any recurrence of such incidents in the future.