Gujarat government was 'complicit,' should accept failure for Khambhat violence, says Owaisi

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], April 15 : All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday said that the Gujarat government had failed to maintain law and order during a religious procession in the Khambhat area of Anand district and said strict action should be taken in the matter after proper inquiry.
Owaisi, MP, alleged that the Gujarat government was "complicit" and should accept its failure.
"How long will you keep bringing out old stories? Accept your failure. You yourself are complicit. Bhajan should be played but what kind of slogans were raised? 50-100 swords were brandished. This was done in police presence. The government wanted violence and is complicit," he alleged.
Gujarat Police had said on Wednesday that the communal violence that broke out in Khambat during Ram Navami procession on April 10 was "a pre-planned conspiracy".
Owaisi said the government should have exposed the plot.
"Why were you sleeping if you had IB report? You should've exposed it, deployed more Police force there and stopped the violence. You bring stories in the evening to hide your complicit behaviour. Such stories are now old," he said.
Earlier addressing a press conference, Owaisi said the onus for violence is on the state government.
"If violence breaks out, the onus is on the state government. Inquiry Commission reports of the past 20-25 years say that if state governments don't want it, violence doesn't break out," he said.
"So, I believe that it is the responsibility of the state government and they failed to maintain law and order. We want that arrests to be made and action to be taken with a proper inquiry," he added.
Gujarat police had said boys were brought from outside for stone-pelting and they were assured of all kinds of legal and financial help if they were caught by the authorities. It was decided to pelt stones from cemeteries as stones could be easily found there, the police had said.
A total of nine people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in violence and stone-pelting during the procession.
"As part of a pre-planned conspiracy, stones were hurled during the Ram Navami procession in Khambhat. The motive of the accused was that once the Ram Navami procession was stoned and threatened, no such religious procession would take place in the future," said Superintendent of Police (SP) Ajit Rajiyan of Anand district.
"The accused had started planning for the procession after news broke that the Ram Navmi procession was about to start and the entire conspiracy was hatched in the last three days after the procession got police permission," he added.