AHMEDABAD, DEC 20
A day after protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise turned violent in Ahmedabad and some parts of Gujarat, the Main Opposition Congress and the ruling BJP on Friday held each other responsible for the violence and stone-pelting at policemen in Shah-e-Alam area forcing the police to lob teargas shells to disperse around 5,000 protesters on Thursday.
Earlier on Friday, police arrested Congress corporator Shehzad Khan Pathan for instigating the mob and 48 others for the attack on police personnel during a protest on Thursday.
While the BJP claimed the Congress was deliberately inciting a specific community by projecting a false interpretation of the citizenship law, the Congress blamed the ruling BJP for Thursday’s attack on police in the city.
In a scathing attack on Congress, state BJP president, Jitu Vaghani, in Gandhinagar on Friday said, “It is shameful that the Congress is misleading and inciting a specific community by projecting a wrong interpretation of the Citizenship Amendment Act. To achieve their political goals in Gujarat, Congress leaders have been making inflammatory statements to disturb peace.”
Deputy Commissioner of Police Bipin Ahire, ACP RB Rana and JM Solanki, an inspector posted at Isanpur police station, were among the 26 policemen injured in the stone-pelting, police said.
According to Minister of State for Home, Pradeepsinh Jadeja, “It was revealed that the police was attacked as part of a pre-planned conspiracy hatched by the Congress corporator and others. Since Congress can’t defeat BJP in elections, it incited people for violence. I urge people not to be carried away by the Congress’ conspiracy.”
Hitting back, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Amit Chavda claimed Pathan was picked up by police merely on the basis of suspicion, and that he was not present when stone-pelting started.
“We condemn this attack on police and want the BJP government to take strict action against the culprits. It is the responsibility of the state government to maintain peace and law and order. If it had planned well in advance as per intelligence inputs, this situation would have been averted,” Chavda told reporters here.
“Since the BJP and its government have failed to provide safety and security to the people, it is blaming us as part of its face-saving exercise. People suspect that BJP’s people were involved in fanning violence,” he added.
Police authorised to suspend telecom services, if needed
The state government on Friday authorized the Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) (Intelligence) to suspend telecom services, if needed.
The temporary authorization has been granted to ADGP Manoj Shashidhar for three days, from December 20 to 22, an order by the Home Department said on Friday.
Shashidhar said that the order did not mean that the government was going to ban all telecom services.
The order said it had been issued in view of “current law and order situation in the state” and under the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules of 2017.
The ADGP (Intelligence) can issue a direction to suspend telecom services “in any exigency that may arise due to public emergency or public safety”, the order said.
Shashidhar refuted rumors that the BJP government in the state was planning to ban mobile and Internet services. “This order only authorities me to issue such order if need arises. There is no need at this point to take a decision to ban mobile or Internet. The situation is very much normal,” he said.
