Congress MLA Ajay Rai’s arrest in connection with the violence in Varanasi substantiates the party's role Monday's rioting. Sharat Pradhan/ Rediff.com reports.
Congress MLA Ajay Rai was on Tuesday arrested along with 50 others in connection with violence and arson in Varanasi on Monday as the administration cracked down on miscreants in the holy city where the situation was peaceful amid continued police patrolling.
Rai’s arrest has substantiated suspicions about Congress party’s role in the violent protests by Sadhus against a high court ban on immersion of religious idols in the Ganges.
Rai was taken into custody by the Varanasi police at around 10 pm. The MLA was arrested as soon as he landed at the LalBahadurShastriAirport in Babatpur here from New Delhi at around 5.30 pm.
Besides being seen in the forefront of the protests, Rai made no bones about supporting the protests by the sadhus.
Rai, who represents Pindra constituency in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, had unsuccessfully contested the last Lok Sabha election from Varanasi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal.
On being asked if the Congress too was trying to play Hindutva politics, Rai shot back, “This is not the politics of Hindutva. We have always espoused the cause of Hindu religion right from the time of Congress stalwart Kamlapati Tripathi, the most famous Congress leader of this region. In any case, I am also a Hindu so it is my duty to support them.”
Former Varanasi Congress MP Rajesh Misra went to the extent of admitting, “Even though the call for Monday’s protest march was given by sadhus led by Swami Avimukteshwaranand, we made it a point to support it.”
He asked, “How can you turn a blind eye to the brutal lathi charge by cops on the innocent sadhus who simply wanted to pursue a religious tradition, which they had carried on through the years?”
“We would have stood up in support to anyone being unnecessarily persecuted by the authorities,” Misra went on to add.
Monday’s march was convened in protest against the police lathi charge on Swami Avimukteshwaranand on the night of September 22.
Asked to comment on this sudden aggressive Hindu role of his party leaders in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh Congress party spokesman Satyadeo Tripathi said, “The Congress party has always believed in equality of all religions.”
