BJP's attempt to communalise Palghar incident shameful: Congress

The Congress on Monday accused the BJP of playing politics on the lynching incident in Maharashtra and said the saffron party's attempts at politicising and communalising the issue were shameful.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the incident of mob lynching in Gadchinchli village on the border of Dadar Nagar Haveli is extremely unfortunate and the Congress party unequivocally condemns it.

On the night of April 16, three Mumbai residents who were on their way to Surat in Gujarat were lynched by local residents in Maharashtra's Palghar district on the suspicion that they were thieves.

"There is no communal or Hindu-Muslim angle to the attack as is being sought to be projected by those, who see an opportunity in every such incident to inflame communal passion. We urge all such persons and groups including political parties and a section of the media to desist from doing so," Surjewala said in a statement.

"Tragically, BJP and its eco system as also a section of media are attempting to project the incident with communal overtones. These attempts to politicise are deeply shameful and must be rejected with the contempt they deserve," he said.

The party's chief spokesperson said there was no place for violence in a civilized society and the strictest possible action must be taken against the accused.

Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh accused the BJP of playing politics on the Palghar incident.

"I think the BJP is playing politics at a very very disturbing moment in our society's history," Jairam Ramesh told journalists at a press conference held online.

In the statement, Surjewala said the Congress has urged Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to ensure an expeditious trial and punishment for the guilty.

The coalition government of Maharashtra has lodged an FIR and arrested 110 people, he said, adding that it has also ordered a CID Crime Investigation by DGP Atul Kulkarni.

All the arrested persons are local adivasis from Vikramgarh Taluka in Palghar district, he said.