The situation in Bhind, Morena and Gwalior of MP, and in Agra, Allahabad and parts of westerm UP continues to remain tense, as reports pour in about how local politicians having vested interests planned violence and arson during Monday’s Bharat Bandh. The rumour factory via WhatsApp was active throughout this volatile period.

UP police has shared with media how politcians at the local level hatched conspiracies to unleash violence. The question arises as to why the local intelligence units of the police were not active.Had the local intelligent units been active, police could have acted in time.

I want to appeal to all sections of society to refrain from retaliating and act with utmost restraint. If some people have unleashed violence, the police is trying its best to round up these elements. Acts of retaliation will further vitiate the atmosphere. Peace is the need of the hour.

It is also clear that vote bank politics acted as a motive behind this cycle of violence, and most of the political parties worked with this ulterior motive. It is a known fact that tickets during polls are distributed on the basis of caste equations. Distributing tickets and seeking votes in the name of caste can be tolerated to some extent but inciting riots and unleashing violence in the name of caste is reprehensible and unacceptable.

All political parties should introspect and see in which direction they are leading our country. On one hand, we have unruly mobs unleashing violence, and, on the other hand, instructions are issued to police not to use teargas shells or lathis nor fire, to control the situation. Had the police used maximum force and if lives were lost, the situation could have deteriorated further.

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