Sanjay Raut wary communal disharmony may be stoked around inauguration of Ram Mandir

Alleging that the 2019 Pulwama attack and 2022 Godhra incidents were engineered, the Shiv Sena (UBT) MP said people and leaders feared that riots may be instigated around the inauguration of the Ram Mandir temple in Ayodhya ahead of the 2024 General Elections

Shiv Sena MP from the Uddhav Thackeray camp Sanjay Raut has expressed concern around the possibility of a “Godhra-like incident at the time of Ram Mandir’s inauguration before the 2024 general elections”. The reference was to the communal disharmony that took place in 2002 in Godhra.

Speaking in Mumbai, Mr. Raut said, “There is fear in people’s and several political leaders’ minds that the political party [Bharatiya Janata Party] that can stage the drama of surgical strike to win elections… it can do anything. As former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satyapal Malik alleged that the 2019 Pulwama attack didn’t actually take place but it was staged, similar things are also being said about the Godhra incident, that it was engineered,” he said.

On February 27, 2002, Hindu pilgrims mostly women and children were returning from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh in Sabarmati Express. A fire broke out in the train near Godhra railway station which is believed to have started the Gujarat communal riots.

On February 14, 2019, a terror attack was carried out in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir by a suicide bomber, resulting in the death of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel. The suicide bomber, identified as Jaish-e-Mohammad’s Adil Ahmed Dar, had rammed his vehicle into a bus with the CRPF convoy.

The Shiv Sena leader said, “We have apprehensions. During the inauguration of Ram Mandir [in 2024], many people will visit Ayodhya by train. We fear at that time, in particular areas, stones would be pelted on trains and they might be attacked. Then, riots can be instigated [by the BJP]. This is the apprehension in the minds of people and political parties,” Mr. Raut said.

“In 2014, the BJP fooled people, and in 2019, they staged the drama of surgical strike and fuelled communal riots to get votes. Now, in 2024, they are again instigating communal disharmony and communal riots to win elections. There are many serious issues like inflation and unemployment in the country, but without discussing it, they want to face the election by instigating communal riots. “We are aware of it. It is our duty to make them [parties and the public] aware of it,” he added.