Mira Road clashes deliberate attempt to deflect attention from Jarange’s agitation: Imtiaz Jaleel

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The recent communal clash in Mira Road, on the outskirts of Mumbai, was a deliberate attempt to divert attention from quota activist Manoj Jarange’s agitation, alleged Lok Sabha member Imtiaz Jaleel on Wednesday.

The AIMIM’s Maharashtra president wrote on X that when Mira Road in Thane district is a “sensitive” area, why enough arrangements were not made there? “Why were ‘C grade’ leaders allowed to give hate speeches and spoil the environment,” he asked.

Members of two communities clashed during a vehicle rally organised in Naya Nagar of Mira Road on Sunday night, a day ahead of the consecration of Lord Ram’s idol in the Ayodhya temple.

The next day, a procession taken out in Mira Road on the occasion of the Ayodhya temple event was pelted with stones by miscreants.

Jaleel wrote on X that the communal disharmony was orchestrated to destabilise Jarange's peaceful march to Mumbai and deflect public attention from it.

The quota activist is heading to Mumbai with thousands of supporters to press for the demand of the Maratha community for reservation in government jobs and education.

“The government doesn’t want lakhs of Marathas to reach Mumbai, so they are trying to create communal tensions by using Muslims as a tool as part of their old strategy. The rioters were given a free hand and the police became mute spectators,” he said.

While violence is unacceptable, police should do their work with sincerity and not buckle under pressure from their political masters, he said and added, “We want Maharashtra to be peaceful.”