Stabbing Incident in Udaipur

CPIML and other left parties have strongly condemned the attempts by the BJP led state government and right wing-forces in Rajasthan to stoke communal polarisation around the recent school stabbing incident in Rajasthan’s Udaipur city. In the incident, in which a student at a government school in Bhatiyani Chauraha attacked his schoolmate, who later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. In the wake of this incident, a joint meeting of left parties in Udaipur city was held on August 18. The meeting, warning against giving communal angle to the incident, demanded timely action against the juvenile accused as per law and appropriate compensation for the affected family.

The situation further escalated when, following the incident, a mob set vehicles on fire and attempted to communalise the incident. The left parties pointed towards failure of the police and local administration to prevent the violence. Instead of ensuring peace, the BJP government attempted to fan communal tension by bulldozing the rented house where the accused minor's family resided under the pretext that the property as an illegal encroachment on forest land.

Shankar Lal Chaudhary, State Secretary of the CPIML accused the district administration of executing the demolition at the behest of the ruling BJP to instil fear among the public and minorities. Terming the bulldozer action as illegal, he said that this was an unjust, intended to polarise the community on religious lines, drawing a parallel to similar tactics used in Uttar Pradesh.

Rajesh Singhvi, District Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), labelled the demolition as an attempt to establish "jungle raj" rather than rule of law.

The left parties appealed to the citizens of Udaipur to maintain religious harmony and avoid falling prey to rumours and hatred.