Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Friday (March 31) blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other right-wing organisations for the violence in Howrah on Ram Navami. Banerjee said that the state government will help people whose properties were vandalised and appealed to the people to maintain peace in the area.
"Howrah's incident is very unfortunate. Neither Hindus nor Muslims were behind the violence in Howrah. The BJP along with Bajrang Dal and other such organisations were involved in the violence with arms," Banerjee told Bengali television news channel ABP Ananda as quoted by PTI.
At least 31 people have been arrested in connection with the violent clashes in Howrah, said Banerjee. The police said that vehicles were torched and shops were ransacked in the area. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attributed these incidents to "laxity in a section of the administration" during the Ram Navami festivities.
Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari hit out against Banerjee's accusations. "The chief minister and the state administration are responsible for the violence," Adhikari said.
Violence was also reported in parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat on Ram Navami.
In Maharashtra's Jalgaon district, 56 people were arrested in connection with reported clashes over music being played outside a mosque while Namaz was going on, the police said on Friday (March 31).
Similarly, in Gujarat's Vadodara, people allegedly pelted stones during a procession in the Fatehpura area on Ram Navami on Thursday. At least 22 people have been caught in connection with the incident. This was the second such violent incident on the same day. Before this, a stone-pelting incident occurred during a procession in the Kumbharwada area of Vadodara, reported ANI.
