Union Home Minister Amit Shah on October 16 accused the Bhupesh Baghel government in Chhattisgarh of being involved in the lynching of a local youth with “appeasement and vote bank politics” in mind. The ruling Congress has described this as an attempt to communalise the elections and instigate riots.
The Congress has also demanded that the Election Commission of India take cognisance of the statement and initiate action against Mr. Shah.
Addressing a nomination rally in Rajnandgaon, his first public event in Chhattisgarh after the announcement of election dates, Mr. Shah referred to communal violence in Biranpur – a village nearly 70 kms away from Raipur – on April 8 in which a young man Bhuneshwar Sahu was killed. Mr. Shah’s BJP has fielded Bhuneshwar father, Ishwar Sahu, from the Saja constituency currently represented by veteran Congress leader Ravindra Choubey.
‘Victim’s’ father fielded
“To appease and protect their vote-bank, this Bhupesh Baghel government killed Chhattisgarh’s son, Bhuneshwar Sahu. The Bharatiya Janata Party has decided that we will bring the murderers of Bhuneswar Sahu to justice and as a symbolic gesture, we have fielded his father Shri Ishwar Sahu in the election,” said Mr. Shah while introducing candidates from the Assembly segments of Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha constituency.
He asked people to chant Bharat Mata ki Jai as a tribute to Bhuneshwar’s “martyrdom”. Later, he asked the gathering if they could vote again for a government that “trampled Bhuneswar Sahu to death”.
Responding to Mr. Shah’s statement, the Congress claimed that Mr. Shah was frustrated by his clearly visible defeat in Chhattisgarh and was resorting to communalism.
“This statement of Amit Shah is not only objectionable but its sole purpose is to incite communal violence in the peaceful state of Chhattisgarh. The Home Minister made this statement with the intention of inciting hysteria for electoral gains. What he has said is absolutely false. The reality is that in this case of violence and counter-violence, the government took prompt action and arrested the accused and sent them to jail,” wrote General Secretary in-charge Communications, Jairam Ramesh on X (formerly Twitter).
‘Book Amit Shah’
“In this matter, now the first responsibility to implement the code of conduct lies directly with the Election Commission. He should take cognizance of this inflammatory statement and take appropriate action by registering a case against Amit Shah. If this does not happen, there is a fear that BJP will not desist from spreading communalism in its election campaign in Chhattisgarh in future too,” Mr. Ramesh’s post added.
Meanwhile, at the Rajnandgaon rally, Mr. Shah also launched a scathing attack on the Bhupesh Baghel government on the issue of corruption, alleging that it had started a corruption food chain from Patwari to Chief Minister with its proceeds being sent to Delhi. He said that the Baghel government was working like an ATM of the Congress’ Delhi Darbar [a reference to the Gandhi family].
He said that if a BJP government was formed in the State, it will recover every penny lost to corruption and those involved would be hung upside down. He also referred to the Baghel government as “Cut Ki aur Bat ki sarkar”, that a spokesperson of the BJP later explained referred to as pocketing and distributing commissions in government projects.
At a press conference held in Raipur later in the evening, the State unit of the Congress said the language used by Mr. Shah was unbecoming of a home minister of the country.
