Chhattisgarh riots: BJP moves in, turns heat on Congress govt

The BJP has its guns out, calling the killing of Bhuneshwar Sahu (23) – among the three fatalities, besides a Muslim father and son – evidence of Baghel’s “Talibani rule”. Under the Congress, Chhattisgarh is “Bhupesh ka Jihadgadh”, they said.

Backed unofficially by the BJP, the VHP held a successful half-day bandh in state capital Raipur.

The BJP charge is being led by MP Arun Sao, who is an OBC leader like Baghel, and who belongs to the numerically significant Sahu Samaj community, as the deceased Bhuneshwar did. Sao came up with the “Talibani” slur against the Baghel government, and made a highly publicised bid to visit Bemetara, which was thwarted by the police.

Sao told The Indian Express that the Baghel government is not acting against incidents of “love jihad” – the term BJP gives to most inter-religious marriages – and that the Bemetara violence reflected “Hindu samaj anger”. “The government could not control the situation,” he adds, denying the government’s claims that he tried to disturb the situation by leading a group there.

Baghel, who initially did not comment on Bhuneshwar’s murder, met Sahu Samaj leaders three days later, and promised compensation of Rs 10 lakh and a government job to the deceased’s family.

Accusing the BJP of trying to create trouble, and “pouring petrol on fire” ahead of the elections, he said: “I have told all collectors and superintendents of police to work together… They (the BJP) just want to come to power, they have no consideration for any class or caste.”

After he promised a crackdown on all hate posts on social media, at least eight BJP functionaries got police notice over their speeches.

Soon after the Muslim father and son were found dead, videos emerged from Jagdalpur of right-wing groups administering oaths to people to boycott non-Hindus, especially Christians and Muslims, socially and economically. Locals came forward to report a similar boycott call made in Biranpur in January, after which, they said, tension had prevailed.

A senior Congress leader said the BJP could benefit from such incidents, like in other states, while taking a swipe at the Baghel government’s counter-attempts like the Ram Van Gaman Paryatan Paripath tourism project. “Votes based on Hindutva will only go to the BJP and the soft Hindutva stand of the Congress will never work,” the leader said.

Senior Congress leader and Health Minister T S Singhdeo, a known Baghel rival, said he hoped the BJP’s tactics do not work in Chhattisgarh. “Religion and caste have never found much traction in the state, and people here are inclusive, welcome and peace-loving,” he said.

As per Census 2011, Chhattisgarh is almost entirely Hindu, with the community comprising 93.24% of its 2.55 crore population. Muslims follow at 2.01%, and then Christians at 1.92%. The Christian numbers though are believed to be higher, with many tribals who follow the faith identifying themselves as Hindu in the Census to not lose reservation benefits.

As per the BJP, it’s not just the Christians who are on the rise, but also Muslims, attributing it to “migration”, “missionaries” and “Rohingya influx”. However, they don’t have any data to back this.

BJP spokesperson Kedar Gupta said what happened was the Baghel government’s fault as “it was not taking fair action against conversion, due to which Adivasis are upset”. Gupta asked the state government to check electoral rolls with those earlier to determine the “illegal immigration”.

Calling out the BJP for such claims, Congress media cell chief Sushil Kumar Shukla said: “The BJP should explain who are the outsiders. Since December 2018, no one from outside has settled in Biranpur… As for Rohingya, we ask them to tell us where they are staying.”

Shukla added that if at all there is any “illegal immigration”, it is the Central government that should be held responsible.

Local MLA and minister Ravindra Choubey, who visited the area after the incidents, said the BJP had converted a fight between two children into a major communal issue. “It will not get them a single vote.” He denied any knowledge of the January incident in Biranpur, where a call was made to boycott Muslims.

Justifying their calls for such boycotts, VHP Chhattisgarh working president Chandrashekhar Verma said: “We will appeal to Hindus for four types of boycotts: social boycott to prevent love jihad, economic boycott, political boycott to avoid land jihad, and religious boycott, where we will not buy anything from those who do not believe in our thoughts…. The police can file a case but this will be a people’s movement.”

Senior tribal leader Arvind Netam, who was a Union minister back in the Indira Gandhi Cabinet, fears that communal politics might stick. “Till now I have never seen Chhattisgarh voting on communal lines. But the BJP and RSS have a wide network here and in India, and these incidents will force voters to think on religious lines.”

CPI(M) state secretariat member Sanjay Parate said Baghel had gone down the wrong path with soft Hindutva, in the hope of capturing some Hindu votes. Apart from development of the Ram Van Gaman Paryatan Paripath, a tourism circuit envisaged to map the route that Lord Ram is believed to have taken during his exile, the Baghel government has encouraged celebration of local festivals and promoted the image of local deity ‘Chhattisgarh Mahatari’.

Calling the communal violence “pre-planned” by the “BJP / RSS”, with an eye on the polls, Parate said the Sangh is working at multiple levels, including pitting Hindu tribals against Christian tribals, and “misusing the PESA (Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act” to convince tribals that they have a say in “everything that happens in their villages, including conversions”.

“The problem is that the Congress is not ready to deal with this communal strategy,” Parate said, adding that some pro-corporate sections in the party, in fact, welcome divisions among tribals as it helps exploit mineral-rich areas.