Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had thrown an Iftar Party at his residence on Saturday (April 23). The prime accused of the Chhabra riots, Asif Ansari, was among the attendees. His images, posing with different dignitaries at the chief minister’s residence, went viral on different social media platforms.
Accusing the chief minister of providing shelter to terrorists, the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded CM Gehlot’s resignation.
Criticising CM Gehlot for sheltering riot accused, BJP National IN Head Amit Malviya said, “Ashok Gehlot hosted an “official” Iftar party on April 23. In attendance was Asif Ansari, main accused of Chhabra riots, in which several homes and shops of Hindu’s were burnt down. The man who should have been in jail was enjoying CM’s hospitality! Sheltering rioters is secularism?”
Local BJP MLA from Chhabra Pratap Singh Singhvi criticised Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for sheltering the riot accused. He said, “A riot accused is being hosted at the official residence of the chief minister. Is it not appeasement? This is very condemnable, and people are watching it very closely and will respond when the time comes.”
Criticising the invitation to Asif Ansari, Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly Gulab Chand Kataria said, “By allowing a riot accused to enter chief minister’s house, Congress is playing cheap politics of vote bank. They are doing this only for their vote bank and this appeasement politics has put the whole state in trouble.”
The Superintendent of Police, Baran District, Kalyamnal Meena, said he had no information that Asif was invited to the chief minister’s residence. He was accused in the Chhabra and is currently out on bail. “We were not given the list of invitees for the Iftar party. Asif Ali was accused of the Chhabra violence, but he was out on bail. We have no information about who invited him there,” the ANI quoted SP Meena.
Massive riots had broken out in Chhabra in the Baran district of Rajasthan on April 11 last year when Fareed, Aabid, and Sameer stabbed to death of one Kamal Singh Gurjar on April 10 over a parking dispute. A Muslim mob had pelted stones at the people who had gathered at the local police station demanding justice for Kamal.
