Amravati violence a ploy to destabilise Maharashtra govt: Sanjay Raut

In a veiled attack on opposition BJP, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday said the violence in Maharashtra's Amravati and other places is aimed at destabilising the MVA government. Speaking to reporters on the Amravati violence wherein a mob hurled stones and damaged shops this morning during a bandh allegedly called by BJP, Raut said the state government is firm in the saddle and that the real faces of the perpetrators of violence will be exposed soon.

The violence on Saturday occurred during the bandh (shutdown) against Friday's stone-pelting incidents during rallies held by Muslim organisations in various districts in protest against the Tripura communal violence.

Hundreds of people, many of them holding saffron flags in their hands and raising slogans, came out on streets in the Rajkamal Chowk area of Amravati. Some members of the mob hurled stones at the shops and damaged them, prompting the police to lathicharge the protesters, an Amravati police official had said earlier in the day.

"The violence that is taking place in Maharashtra is aimed at destabilising the MVA government. Raising the bogey of violence, they (Opposition) will meet the state governor and write letters to the Union home ministry claiming that the (law and order) situation in Maharashtra is deteriorating. This will happen in future too. But the state government is firm in the saddle," Raut said.

He said the "real faces" behind this violence will be exposed in the inquiry of the state Home ministry. The Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress are the constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

Meanwhile, AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel has condemned the violence in Amravati.

"I condemn the violence in Tripura as well as in Maharashtra. I want to question those leaders in the state who came to power by taking the votes of Muslims and why they didn't condemn the violence in Tripura. If this violence in Maharashtra is a 'tit for tat' by any political party then this is the example of irresponsibility," he said.

Police have so far arrested 20 people in connection with Friday's violence.