Communal incidents dropped during NDA rule, says Rijiju

Communal incidents dropped during NDA rule, says Rijiju

New Delhi: Junior minister for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju claimed that there had been a "substantial" drop in the number communal incidents since the BJP-led NDA government assumed power in 2014.

Replying to a barrage of questions on communal incidents, Rijiju further said in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that comparing incidents would not address the issue.

Mentioning that only four major incidents took place since NDA came to power, Rijiju said, he would refrain from commenting on the incidents that occurred during the UPA regime.

However, he said that there had been a rise in incidents between 2014 and 2015, but the numbers were less than those during the UPA rule.

He mentioned that in 2014, 133 incidents took place in UP, followed by Maharashtra's 97. While Rajasthan reported 72 incidents, Madhya Pradesh had 56 and Karnataka 73. Gujarat, Bihar and West Bengal reported 74, 61 and 16 respectively.

Notably, 650 communal incidents occurred between January and October with UP topping the charts with 139 occurrences.

Rijiju rubbished allegations from the Opposition that communal incidents occur in the state where BJP is in power.

In 2013, during the UPA rule, 694 communal incidents took place in the first 10 months.

The most devastating incident was the Muzaffarnagar riots where over 65 persons were killed and several others were either injured or rendered homeless.

Notably, over 600 incidents of communal tensions occurred in the years 2011 and 2012.

However, the BJP-led central government mentioned only two such communal incidents as significant. The killing of Akhlaq in Dadri in September this year for allegedly slaughtering a cow and the violence in Atali village, Ballabhgarh last May was termed as significant. The arson of a disputed mosque in Atali village triggered a riot and forced the bulk of the Muslim population to flee.

The Home Ministry shared a report on the communal violence with the members of the Standing Committee on Home.

(With inputs from agencies)

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