Three-fourth riot deaths in the country occurred during Congress rule: Home minister

During a discussion on communal violence in the national capital in Rajya Sabha on Thursday Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that his party’s record was far better in controlling riots than that of the Congress as more than three-fourth riot deaths in the country occurred during Congress rule. In this article, senior journalist Krishnanand Tripathi discusses about Amit Shah's reply during the debate in the Upper House.

New Delhi:Union home minister Amit Shah Thursday came down heavily on the principal opposition party Congress for criticizing Modi government’s handling of recent communal violence in national capital Delhi, saying that his party’s record was far better in controlling riots than that of the Congress as more than three-fourth riot deaths in the country occurred during Congress rule.

He vehemently rejected the theories that the ruling party at the Centre was either complicit or lax in handling the riots in national capital during US President Donald Trump’s maiden state visit to India.

As Union Home Minister, Amit Shah’s ministry is in charge of maintaining the law and order in the national capital Delhi and he was criticised by the opposition for not visiting the riot-hit areas.

"Brothers, please at least have this kind of common sense, when the President of the United States of America was in India on a state visit, Prime Minister of the host country was present, whether my government will choose such kind of timing for state sponsored riots?" home minister Amit Shah asked in the Rajya Sabha.

"Please have some common sense, what are you talking about?"he told the members of opposition parties.

While pointing fingers at the Congress for its inability to control riots during its rule, Amit Shah said the attempts to blame his party and his ideology for communal violence in the country were not new.

"The attempt to link my party and my ideology with riots have been made since independence but facts speak otherwise," he said.

In his reply to the debate in the Rajya Sabha on recent communal violence in Delhi, Amit Shah listed out several riots that occurred during the Congress rule, some of them worst ever riots in the history of independent India such as riots of Bhagalpur in 1989 and Mumbai riots in 1993.

He said the BJP was not in power when riots broke out in Ranchi in 1967, in Ahmedabad in 1969 and Jalgaon in 1970, or during riots in Moradabad in UP in 1980 or during the riots in Assam in 1983.

Taking a dig at the Congress for its inability to control riots during its tenure, Union home minister Amit Shah said BJP was not in power when riots took place in Bhagalpur in Bihar and national capital Delhi in 1989.

“Our party was not in power riots broke out in Aligarh and Hyderabad in 1990 and Bhopal and Kanpur in 1992 and in Mumbai in 1993,” Amit Shah said.

“We were only in power in Gujarat when riots took place in 2002,” Amit Shah said as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was chief minister of the western state of Gujarat following the burning of karsevaks (volunteers) at Godhara.

More than 50 volunteers were burnt alive in a train coach in 2002 and the political stigma of ensuing communal violence that killed more than a thousand people during his chief minister-ship of the state of Gujarat never actually left Prime Minister Modi.

Defending BJP government’s track record, Amit Shah said the fact was that 76% percent riot victims in the country have been killed when the Congress was in power.

“Mr. Chairman, I only want to say that the riots took place during the Congress rule and they too made attempts to control them. And riots also took place during our time and we also tried to control them,” Amit Shah said.

“But the attempt to put the blame on my party or my ideology is condemnable,” said a combative Amit Shah as he sought to counter the allegation of any laxity or delay in controlling the riots in Delhi.