Nagpur: Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil on Tuesday denied that there is any possibility of communal clashes erupting in the state after the ongoing Muslim fasting month of Ramzan.
He was responding to a poser whether there could be communal disturbances in the wake of the May 3 ultimatum of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena President Raj Thackeray to remove loudspeakers from all mosques failing which his party activists would blare out ‘Hanuman Chalisa’.
“Some parties are attempting to create a communal divide in the state… There is no information on such (riots) in the state. However, the police are monitoring the situation closely,” Walse-Patil told mediapersons.
Without taking names, he reiterated that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government will not tolerate any bids to foment communal strife and clamp down on such groups with appropriate action.
The home minister pointed out that clashes have been reported from some parts of the country, but the Maharashtra government is fully geared to tackle any such eventuality and urged all not to escalate the matter further.
Walse-Patil added that these efforts are directed to divert the peoples’ attention from burning problems of inflation, unemployment, border situation and those behind it shall be exposed by the police.
(IANS)
