Union Minister Anurag Thakur today launched a fresh attack on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar over incidents of violence on Ram Navami, accusing them of indulging in "appeasement politics" for minority votes.
Such kind of vote bank politics creates many problems and poses many challenges before the country, the Information and Broadcasting minister said while addressing an event organised here to observe the World Peace and Harmony Day on the 2622nd birth anniversary of Jain Tirthankara Mahavir.
Parts of West Bengal and Bihar witnessed incidents of violence on Ram Navami last week.
"This is a very relevant topic in the present times. One part of the world has been witnessing a war for a long time. When I see the situation in India, there is an atmosphere of peace but Ram Navami processions are not allowed to be taken out peacefully," Mr Thakur said.
Referring to the violence during Ram Navami processions in West Bengal, he asked whether the chief minister of the state is resorting to dividing the society as she said Hindus should not pass through certain areas.
"This itself is a matter of concern," he said.
"A war between two countries is one thing but creating such a situation in our own country, in Bihar and Bengal, where you are not allowed to take out a procession peacefully on Ram Navami and forced to commit arson, stone pelting and murder, raises many questions," the minister charged.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tells countries around the world that this is not the era of war and the time to discuss, deliberate, be part of democracy and decide, Mr Thakur said.
"And the world accepts this point but the chief ministers of two states of our country talking like that and resorting to partiality raises a big question as to whether a particular community was involved in the violence or politics of appeasement fans their passion," he said.
The creation of unrest in society in such a manner for vote bank politics poses "many challenges and problems" to the country, the minister said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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