Bihar: 'Love Jihad' Tableau On Maha Shivratri Sparks Row In Munger, Tension In Sitamarhi After Idols Vandalised
One of the tableaux in the procession featured "gory images" and "communally charged" messages, while the remaining tableaux had images of the Hindu God Shiva and Goddess Parvati.
A tableau themed around 'love Jihad' during the Shivratri procession organised by Bajrang Dal in Munger district of Bihar. The grand processing, featuring around 50 tableaux, toured the city before concluding at the Mankeshwar Nath Mahadev Temple.
However, one of the tableaux in the procession featured "gory images" and "communally charged" messages, while the remaining tableaux had idols of the Hindu God Shiva and Goddess Parvati.
The tableaux allegedly depicted atrocities committed by Muslims against Hindu girls. It also showed a refrigerator with dolls representing chopped-up women.
The tableau drew sharp criticism from opposition parties, with RJD leader Mrityunjay Tiwari accusing the ruling JD(U) of failing to maintain communal harmony.
Munger’s Bajrang Dal convenor Saurabh S Sampanna said that the tableaux was meant to give a “social message”.
"We did not name or target any religion and used some news items published in various newspapers. We wanted to draw people’s attention towards atrocities against Hindu women in the name of marriage," he said.
The incident led to a political row with the opposition parties hitting out at the ruling NDA government for stoking communal tensions.
RJD leader Mrityunjay Tiwari accused the JD(U) of failing to maintain communal harmony and said that a conspiracy is being hatched to incite riots.
"An attempt is being made to spoil the atmosphere... A conspiracy is being hatched to incite riots... Why was a 'love jihad' theme shown on Shivratri? Nitish Kumar says there will be no Hindu-Muslim conflict in Bihar, but will the JD(U) oppose this Bajrang Dal-BJP tableau?" Tiwari questioned.
Tension In Sitamarhi
The Sitamarhi district in North Bihar was under the grip of tensions as idols kept inside a village temple were vandalised by unidentified persons, a police officer said.
Deputy SP (Sadar) Ram Krishna said the incident was reported from Paramanandpur village i Sitamarhi where the idols of Lord Shiva and the deity Kartikeya were found desecrated in the morning.
Villagers allege that they suspect members of a particular community to have engaged in the act on Wednesday night after the Shivratri festivities, the Deputy SP said.
However, the official added, "Nobody has seen any of the people entering the temple at the time of the incident. Technical experts have, therefore, been pressed into service to survey the spot and come up with some clues."
Meanwhile, heavy police forces have been deployed in the area to maintain order.
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