Congress demands resignation of Rajnath Singh, Najeeb Jung over Trilokpuri violence

NEW DELHI: Congress today demanded the resignation of Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Lt Governor Najeeb Jung over communal violence in Trilokpuri in East Delhi and alleged there was a systematic pattern and attempt to polarise ahead of possible assembly polls in Delhi.

The party wanted an independent and impartial inquiry by a third party including by a retired judicial officer.

"Congress party demands the resignation of the Union Home Minister and the Lt Governor for their inaction and soft attitude towards a serious situation in which the authorities had prior information", party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters.

Giving a chronology of the incidents, he alleged Delhi Police followed its political masters and acted like mute spectators.

Questioning the role of a BJP MLA in the entire incident, Singhvi alleged there are "credible" reports that the BJP leader had convened a meeting on Diwali night and troubled started only after that.

"Tension between the two communities was brewing for the last one month and intelligence agencies had alerted the Home Ministry accordingly. Despite concrete intelligence, the callousness of the Home Ministry led to the situation going out of hand, leading to clashes", he said.

Alleging that the inaction of Delhi Police during the violence in Trilokpuri is a repetition of various communal riots that have taken place in the country, he said such incidents are rising in poll-going states after BJP came to power.

"Why this systematic pattern is being seen in so many parts of the country with montonous repetition in the last five months?" he said.