Flagging the attacks on minorities over the past couple of weeks, the CPI(M) Central Committee in a statement at the end of a two-day meeting in Delhi, said that the “communal assaults” have sharpened, after the Lok Sabha results, where the BJP fell short of the majority.
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The party pointed out that five Muslim men have reportedly been killed in different incidents in Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. In Madhya Pradesh, 11 houses of Muslims were demolished based on unsubstantiated allegations of “cow slaughter” or “recovery of beef”. There were similar incidents in Delhi, where residents were forced to flee following the recovery of a cow carcass. Such incidents have been reported from other parts of the country too.
Condemning the attacks, the Central Committee called on party units to hold protests against such incidents. “Such sharpening of communal assaults following the reversals suffered by the BJP highlight the fact that the Hindutva communal forces are intensifying their attempts at polarisation with a renewed vengeance,” the committee said.
The party also criticised the “weaponisation of the central agencies”, underlining the re-arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the CBI and the sanction for prosecution of writer Arundhati Roy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, the party said, wants to float a narrative of “business as usual” by repeating all elected former Ministers and re-electing Om Birla as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.