Shiv Sena today attacked ally BJP over the violence in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr (File)
The Shiv Sena today attacked ally BJP over the violence in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr, asking if it was orchestrated to polarise society on religious grounds ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
"The issue of cattle slaughter is widely prevalent in Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Goa, but no violence or mob killings have been reported there as these states have negligible Lok Sabha seats," Shiv Sena said according to news agency PTI.
The Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP could come to power at the Centre in 2014 as it won 71 of total 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP, the party said. "The BJP has realised that repeating the performance is not possible and on top of it, if the opposition comes together, like it did in the Kairana by-polls (in UP), the ruling party could be easily defeated," the Shiv Sena claimed.
"Was the Bulandshahr incident orchestrated like the Muzaffarnagar incident before the 2014 polls? The BJP knows that the 2019 elections will not be easy for it. Therefore, has it used its weapon of religious polarisation?" the Sena asked in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.
The communal clashes in UP's Muzaffarnagar district and adjoining areas in August and September 2013 had claimed more than 60 lives while over 40,000 people were displaced.
Shiv Sena, a ruling ally of the BJP-led Maharashtra government, said the 80 Lok Sabha seats of UP could be a "game changer" for the BJP.
Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh, the station house officer (SHO) of Siana, who was killed by a mob in Bulandshahr, was part of the team that investigated UP's Dadri lynching case in 2015 and had taken a firm stand on arresting the accused, the Shiv Sena said.
"The question now being raised is if there is a link between the Bulandshahr violence, Subodh Kumar's death and the Dadri lynching incident," the Uddhav Thackeray-led party alleged.
In September 2015, Mohammad Akhlaq, a man in his 50s, was killed by a mob inside his house at Bisada village falling under Dadri sub-division of UP's Gautam Buddh Nagar district on the suspicion that cattle meat was consumed.
On Monday, a mob of some 400 people attacked with police in Siana area of Bulandshahr district, allegedly after right-wing activists were angered by the discovery of cow carcasses strewn in a nearby jungle.
They set fire to dozens of vehicles, hurled stones and also opened fire at the police personnel, who had no choice but to retaliate with gunfire.
In the violence, Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh and 20-year-old Sumit Kumar were killed.
Police arrested four people on Tuesday and are searching for Yogesh Raj, a Bajrang Dal zilla coordinator, in connection with the mob violence.