Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of whipping up communal passions ahead of the Assembly election, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has said Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal was killed by BJP workers who had been released from police detention under pressure a few days before the incident in June last year.
“The culprits have links with the BJP. Police had arrested them in some other case, but BJP leaders visited the police station to get them released,” Mr. Gehlot said at a meeting of Congress party workers in Jodhpur on Sunday. He said the accused were caught by the police within three hours of Mr. Lal’s murder, but the NIA took over the case the same night.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said at an election rally in Udaipur last week that the Congress was “sympathetic to terrorists” and accused the Rajasthan government of pursuing a policy of appeasement that helped terrorists. Mr. Modi was referring to Mr. Lal’s murder by two assailants.
NIA delaying case
Mr. Gehlot said progress in the case was not known since the NIA had taken over from the State police. “Had the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Rajasthan police handled the case, the probe would have reached a logical conclusion by now,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the pace of investigation had been “purposefully kept slow”, as the BJP intended to turn the case into an election issue to polarise voters on communal lines. The two cleaver-wielding men, who allegedly murdered Mr. Lal in broad daylight at his shop, accused him of supporting those who had made controversial remarks.
Mr. Gehlot pointed out that BJP leaders, including the Leader of Opposition, left for a conference in Hyderabad immediately after the Udaipur incident, while the Congress government acted with all seriousness. “I cancelled all of my programmes in Jaipur and left for Udaipur the moment I came to know of the incident,” he said.
Mr. Gehlot said the BJP’s Hindutva agenda would not work in Rajasthan, as the Assembly polls were being fought with development holding centre stage. “They exploited Lord Hanuman in the Karnataka election but had to bite the dust. They will not succeed here with this strategy, since Rajasthan has emerged as a model State because of the government’s welfare measures.”
