UPA cannot pass the buck for Assam violence
The Congress, the coalition it leads at the Centre and the party’s Chief Minister in Assam have sought to shift the blame for the recent spate of communal violence in the State on to the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. This is both meaningless and disgraceful. If Congress leaders and allies are to be believed, it is Mr Modi's speech at an election rally in Assam, wherein he called for an end to illegal immigration from Bangladesh, which incited Bodo militants to attack Muslim migrants late last week. According to National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, “It can't be a coincidence that... you paint all the Muslims as Bangladeshi illegal immigrants and suddenly 30 Muslims are killed in unprovoked violence”. The Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir also warned, “When you fight an election that has such strong communal overtones, you run the risk of inflaming passions”. His sentiments were echoed by Congressman Kapil Sibal who alleged that BJP leaders have been “fanning violence in Assam” and using social media to spread communal propaganda. Indeed, there has been much chatter in Congress circles about Mr Modi's so-called ‘hate speech' in Assam. Yet, the fact remains that there was nothing remotely communal in Mr Modi's speech. Indeed, there was hardly anything new in his statement on illegal immigration that had not already been said by other politicians. The need to curb this menace, that has not just strained our national resources but also disturbed the demographic equation in Assam and fuelled social unrest, has long been talked about — but, unfortunately, it has not been converted to state policy.
Such political inaction, coupled with decades of misgovernance and corruption, has been made worse by historical faultlines between communities. let us not forget that ethnic tensions have always run high in the affected districts of Kokrajhar, Baksa and Chirang in Bodoland. Over the years, these tensions have been allowed to fester by successive Governments who have done little to reconcile ethnic demands and aspirations. The result is a tinder box-like situation. And it is this tinder box that exploded in 2012 (and there was no ‘hate speech’ by Mr Modi to light a spark then) when Bodos clashed with Muslims killing more than a 100 people and displacing thousands. Even at that time, both the Congress regimes at the Centre and the State failed miserably to bring the matter under control. But, of course, much of the blame for the bloodletting in Assam must be laid at Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi’s doorstep. law and order is a State subject, as Congress leaders often remind their BJP counterparts in such situations, and it is the State Government's responsibility to ensure peace. Ironically, the Bodo leader who allegedly ignited tensions against Muslims — she said that her candidate may lose the lok Sabha election as minorities had not voted for him in the April 24 poll — is aligned with the Congress.