Shiv Sena slams BJP for 'silence' over Munger firing, questions communalisation of Palghar lynching case

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Friday hit out at the BJP for its “silence” on the firing on people during a Durga idol immersion in Bihar’s Munger, where the saffron party is in power along with the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U). The Shiv Sena, in an editorial in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, said the BJP was, however, “quick to communalise” the killing of two sadhus by a mob in Palghar district of Maharashtra in April this year. In an incident of firing and stone-pelting at Munger’s Deen Dayal Upadhyay Chowk, one person was killed and over two dozen people, including security personnel, were injured during a Durga idol immersion late on Monday night. “If this incident had happened in Maharashtra or West Bengal (Opposition-ruled states), the BJP would have raised a hue and cry. Why are those who tried to communalise the Palghar lynching quiet over Munger?” the editorial asked. “Didn’t the fake Hindutvawadis feel the insult of Goddess Durga and wasn’t the subsequent firing symbol of jungle raj? Has the BJP put on the glasses of secularism?” the Marathi daily asked, further hitting out at the Sena’s former ally. The BJP also came under fire from the Maharashtra Congress with its spokesperson Sachin Sawant claiming the NDA lead constituent indulged in opportunistic Hindutva politics. “When the Palghar incident took place, the BJP demanded the resignation of the Maharashtra home minister, However, the party has not uttered a word on Munger,” Sawant said.