By IANS,
New Delhi : The Congress party Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “celebrating its Karnataka victory by a bloodbath in Rajasthan”, and said the BJP-ruled state government there was “criminally culpable” for the deaths in the Gujjar violence.
“The BJP has celebrated its poll victory in Karnataka with a bloodbath in Rajasthan. The violence in Rajasthan was a result of the high handedness of (Chief Minister Vasundhara) Raje government,” alleged Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari.
“Their policy has been ‘shoot first and then talk’,” Tewari said. The situation in the violence hit state has become absolutely a “law and order issue”, he added.
At least 37 people have been killed in the Gujjar violence, mostly in police firing. The Gujjars are demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status that will entitle them to reservation in government jobs and educational institutions.
“Ironically, neither has any BJP national leader nor L.K. Advani made any remark on the violence in Rajasthan. Their silence is deafening,” Tewari said.
The Congress spokesperson alleged that the origin of the problem was Raje’s assurance to the community in 2003 that they would be given ST status.
“The Rajasthan government is criminally culpable for what is happening there,” Tewari said.