BJP delegation stopped en route to violence-hit Karauli

Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya and BJP’s Rajasthan president Satish Poonia, accompanied by hundreds of party workers, were on way to meet victims of communal violence on April 2

A BJP delegation, led by Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, was stopped en route to the violence-hit Karauli town on Wednesday. Mr. Surya and BJP’s Rajasthan president Satish Poonia, accompanied by hundreds of party workers, were on the way to meet the victims of communal violence on April 2.

The police stopped them at the Dausa-Karauli border and detained Mr. Surya, Mr. Poonia and other party workers. As the BJP leaders kept demanding that they be allowed to visit Karauli, they were taken into a bus and dispersed at a distance.

Police said the action was taken under Section 129 (dispersal of assembly by use of civil force) of the Criminal Procedure Code. Mr. Surya, who is also national president of the BJP’s youth wing, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, arrived in Jaipur early on Wednesday morning and met a youth, Amit, who was injured in the violence and is recovering at the Sawai Man Singh Government Hospital in Jaipur.

Mr. Surya said prohibitory orders were not in place at the location where he and other BJP leaders were detained. “It is our constitutional right to go to Karauli... This dictatorial government is snatching our rights,” he told reporters before being whisked away by the policemen.

The violence erupted in Karauli, situated 170 km away from Jaipur, after provocative sloganeering by the participants in a motorcycle rally outside a mosque on the Navsamvatsar day on April 2. Mr. Surya said the violence indicated a “clear lawlessness” in Rajasthan and the Congress government was unwilling to act against the aggressors.

In an apparent reference to Mr. Surya’s detention, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said strict action would be taken against any person who tried to disturb law and order in the State. “The BJP leaders are constantly trying to create a communal atmosphere in Rajasthan. They are going to Karauli and issuing misleading statements... They submitted a memorandum to the Governor to ensure that the tension remains [the same],” he tweeted.

Mr. Gehlot said the riots broke out on Ram Navami last week in the States ruled by the BJP, but all communities celebrated the festival together in Rajasthan and the religious processions were welcomed by all people. “The BJP is troubled by people’s unity here. They are regretting how the Ram Navami was celebrated peacefully in the State.” he added.