Nagpur Violence: Communal clashes up by 94% since 2019, says AAP’s Sanjay Singh in Rajya Sabha, blames BJP

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Member of Parliament (MP), Sanjay Singh, targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, blaming the saffron party for what he called a 94 per cent rise in cases of communal violence across the country since 2019.

Singh said the spurt in the communal incidents was due to “incendiary and hate speeches” by the ruling party leaders.

“If we compare the cases of communal violence from 2019 to 2024, it shows an increase of 94 per cent. And why is communal violence happening? It is because you (BJP leaders) give inciting speeches. Your people indulge in hateful talks,” Singh said in the Upper House of Parliament.

The AAP leader was referring to the recent violence in Nagpur over the 18th-century grave of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and increasing temple-mosque disputes in the country.

“When the whole world is moving towards development, you are spreading hate in the country,” Singh said, participating in a debate on the workings of the Home Ministry. He claimed that people in power have been saying that would damage government-protected Mughal-era sites.

What happened in Nagpur?

Violence erupted in central Nagpur on Monday, with stones hurled at police amid rumours that the sacred text of a community was burnt during an agitation by a right-wing body demanding the removal of the 17th-century Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district.

The Nagpur Police on Thursday arrested nine more individuals in connection with the March 17 clashes, bringing the total number of arrests to over 100.

Thirty-three police personnel, including three DCP rank officers, were injured in the violence. Police have booked Fahim Khan, the key accused in the violence, and five others on charges of sedition and spreading misinformation on social media, as per police. Curfew was lifted or relaxed in parts of the city three days after the violence.

Earlier, vice-president and chairman of Rajya Sabha, Jagdeep Dhankhar, extended birthday greetings to Sanjay Singh.

Jibe at BJP's ‘double-engine’ govt

Singh also jibed at the BJP over its “double-engine” narrative. He said that though crime is a state subject, if it is BJP-ruled, then the party is doubly answerable and accountable for maintaining law and order.

Citing the National Crime Record Bureau data, the AAP MP claimed criminal activities have gone up in recent years in states that have "double-engine governments".

Singh, citing data, said BJP-ruled Haryana registered more incidents of crime than Punjab even though it has more population than the AAP-ruled border state.

"In Uttar Pradesh, 6,57,925 cases were registered in 2020, 6,80,082 in 2021 and 7,53,675 cases in 2022," Singh said, adding similar trends were seen in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, and Delhi.

(With PTI inputs)