BJP boycotts Maharashtra all-party meeting on attacks on North Indians

An all-party meeting convened by Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on the issue of recent attacks on North Indians proved to be a non-starter with the Bharatiya Janata Party boycotting it and its alliance partner Shiv Sena refusing to be a part of the delegation that met Governor S C Jamir later to assure him about the law and order situation.

The meeting, which was attended by leaders from parties including the Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena, Peasants and Workers Party and Janata Dal (S), passed a resolution claiming that attempts were being made to defame Maharashtra by blowing some stray incident out of proportion. The resolution also said that citizens from various linguistic and regional backgrounds were not only safe in the state but also flourishing there.

Talking to the media later, Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Ramdas Kadam said, “When incidents of bomb blasts and religious strife are taking place in the state, and armed robberies and dacoities are on the rise, how can we be a part of the delegation which goes to the governor and assures him that everything in the state is hunky-dory.”

State BJP spokesman Madhav Bhandari said, “The state government failed to create any common ground between it and the Opposition parties. Therefore, we decided to boycott the meeting.”

“The state government refused to accept our demand that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s letter expressing concern over the safety of North Indians in Maharashtra should be placed before the all-party meeting and it should be discussed threadbare,” he claimed.

“Besides, we are of the firm opinion that the law and order situation has deteriorated in four years of the Democratic Front government’s rule,” he added.