On Thursday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced financial assistance to the people who lost their homes in the Khargone riots. He said that the stone pelters and the rioters will be greeted with bulldozers and will have to pay the price for damaging the properties in the state.
“The state government will rebuild the burnt properties and will help the victims financially. But I will not spare the rioters. The cost of reconstruction of the burnt homes will be recovered from them. They will be greeted with bulldozers, not flowers”, he affirmed while addressing the crowd on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti.
आप सारे त्यौहार धूमधाम उत्साह के साथ भाईचारे के साथ मनाया हनुमान जयंती, गुड फ्राइडे, ईद सभी प्रेम के साथ मनाएं।
— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) April 14, 2022
सरकार सबके साथ है।
जिनके घर जले हैं, हम उनके घर फिर से बनवाएंगे और जिन्होंने घर जलाए हैं उनसे ही वसूली की जाएगी। उनको छोडूंगा नहीं। #AmbedkarJayanti pic.twitter.com/SPRPoxfKFM
Chouhan further added that the state government had recovered 21 thousand acres of land from the mafias and assured that the recovered land will be used for the welfare of poor people. “Bulldozers are being rolled in Madhya Pradesh. 21 thousand acres of land recovered from the goons and mafias will be distributed among the poor people”, he stated on April 14.
हमने मध्य प्रदेश में बुलडोजर चलाकर माफियाओं से २१ हजार एकड़ जमीन मुक्त कराई है। अब यह सारी जमीन गरीबों में बांट दी जाएगी। #AmbedkarJayanti pic.twitter.com/UDFUH60fAM
— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) April 14, 2022
Meanwhile the Chief Minister also slammed Congress’s Digvijay Singh for spreading lies by posting fake photograph on social media and allegedly instigating the crowd in Khargone. “People like Digvijay Singh are behind incidents like Khargone, which is why he is spreading such lies. Singh has been part of this conspiracy to begin with. Congress’s idea is to defame the current government”, he said reiterating that Singh deliberately had tweeted fake image to create religious trouble in Khargone.
#Khargone में अनुसूचित जाति के लोगों के घर जला दिए गए। ऐसे लोगों के खिलाफ कार्यवाही क्यों नहीं होनी चाहिए?
— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) April 14, 2022
दिग्विजय सिंह को उसमें भी दर्द होता है वह झूठे पोस्ट कर रहे हैं। वह प्रदेश में आग लगाना चाहते हैं।
अरे झूठों, कुछ तो शर्म करो। pic.twitter.com/lq52GKlFD9
Chouhan was referring to a photograph of a man putting a saffron flag on the mosque, which Singh had posted on Twitter, saying that it was from Khargone. Chouhan refuted the claims made by Singh and said that the photograph shared by him was not from Madhya Pradesh. “Singh conspired to create religious unrest in the state. He attempted to push the state into communal riots. I will not forgive anyone who tried to cause communal riots in my state”, Chouhan had said. Singh later deleted the tweet as the state police registered multiple FIRs against him for posting the fake picture.
The Chief Minister further assured the citizens that the BJP-led state government was for everyone and that it was important to maintain harmony among people of various religions. “The government is with everyone. We’ll together celebrate all the upcoming festivals with fervour and great enthusiasm, be Hanuman Jayanti, Good Friday or Eid”, he stated in Bhopal.
Khargone riots
On April 10, a Ram Navami procession that began in the Talab Chowk area of Khargone had to be abandoned midway after it came under a volley of stones. Riots escalated as several vehicles were set on fire. The cops resorted to firing tear gas shells to bring the situation under control. During the orgy of violence, a total of 24 people were injured, including six police personnel.
The day after the riots, the Khargone administration took strict action against the miscreants who had pelted stones at the Ram Navami procession. The illegally constructed buildings were bulldozed by the administration. Five JCB machines were deployed for the task. According to the reports, 77 people have been arrested and the city of Khargone continues to be under curfew.
