Asansol Violence: Rahul Gandhi slams ‘hatred spreading’ BJP-RSS

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its parent organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) over the violence that broke out in West Bengal’s Asansol.

The Congress president praised Asansol’s Imam Imadadul Rashidi and Delhi’s Yashpal Saxena, who appealed for peace despite losing their sons in communal violence.

"After losing their sons due to hate and communalism, messages from Yashpal Saxena and Imam Rashidi show that love will always defeat hatred in India. The foundation of Congress rests on compassion and mutual brotherhood. We will not allow the hatred spreading BJP/RSS ideology to win," Rahul tweeted.

Communal clashes broke out on Monday in Raniganj over a Ram Navami procession and soon spread to adjacent Asansol, where 16-year-old Sibtulla Rashidi, son of the Imam of Noorani Masjid was killed.

Despite losing his son, the Imam appealed people for maintaining peace who visited Idgah Ground, where his son was buried.”

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“My son has died, but I don’t want anyone else to lose his child, I only want peace to return here. If you strike back, I shall leave this town, the grieved father appealed.

Yashpal Sexena's son Ankit Saxena was killed on February 1 by the family of a woman he was in a relationship with. The girl Ankit loved was from the minority community.

In Asansol, BJP MP and Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Babul Supriyo was booked for rioting and assaulting an IPS officer in Asansol.

The BJP leader indulged in a heated argument with locals who asked him to leave the area. He then threatened to skin them alive, according to the Indian Express.