Orissa violence: Cracks in BJP-BJD alliance

The Times of India
BHUBANESWAR: Pressure is mounting within the BJP to reconsider its support to the Naveen Patnaik government in the aftermath of the slaying of senior VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his supporters. The split came to the fore on Monday when some legislators of the saffron party blamed the administration for the killings and said they wouldn't allow the Assembly to function till the culprits were arrested. Sources said hardliners in the party, backed by some leaders in the RSS and VHP, were insisting on snapping ties with the BJD. "Some fear that the party's base was getting eroded by remaining in power. Considering that the elections are a few months away, they feel the party should strengthen itself by resurrecting the Hindutva agenda," a source said. Many in the party, however, disagree with this view and don't want to bring their 10-year-old alliance with Naveen's party to an end. They believe BJP benefits more by having a coalition with BJD as the regional party's support was crucial to win Lok Sabha seats. A paralytic patient died as Sangh Parivar members defied curfew in communally-sensitive Kandhmal district of Orissa and damaged seven churches and prayer halls and torched vehicles, police said. Two police posts in Nuagaon and Pasara areas of the district were also attacked. A mob set ablaze 28 houses in Roopa village of Kandhmal. Apart from Kandhmal, which has been on the boil since gunmen shot dead Swami Laxmanananda on Saturday, attacks on churches and prayer halls were also reported from Bargarh, Jajpur, Koraput, Rayagada, Boudh, Gajapati, Sambalpur and Deogarh. Sangh Parivar members went berserk in Bhubaneswar and attacked the local Doordarshan Kendra, Xavier Institute of Management, Loyala School and a church in Satya Nagar area. The swami was in the forefront of a Hindu movement that had demanded that converts to Christianity be brought back to the Hindu fold. The area had, as a result, become a tinderbox of communal tensions. Road and rail communication was hit by the violence and people mostly hunkered in the safety of their homes. VHP secretary general Pravin Togadia visited Chakapada in Kandhmal where the last rites of Swami Laxmanananda were performed. Togadia accused the Naveen Patnaik government of acting like an "eunuch" and demanded the CM apologize for the killings. "Christians murdered Swamiji, but government is lying and giving it a Maoist colour. Naveen as an individual and police, in particular, are responsible for this attack orchestrated by the Church on Hindu dharma," he alleged. Church leaders condemned Saturday's killing of the Hindu priest and appealed for peace.
Earlier, rampaging mobs seeking revenge for the killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his disciples burned churches and Christian prayers halls on Monday in several parts of Orissa in an orgy of violence that left at least two people, including a woman who worked in a church, charred to death. A Christian priest and a nun were also assaulted in Nuagana area of Kandhmal district. "We have rescued the priest and the nun. We will send them for medical examination," DIG (southern range) R P Koche said. VHP-sponsored bandh supporters attacked and ransacked a church-run orphanage at Phutpali, about 85km from Bargarh, and set fire to two rooms. The 22-year-old woman, initially described by witnesses as a nun but later as an employee, was burned to death and a priest sustained burn injuries. Police said the woman was identified as Rajani Majhi, a resident of Nuapada village in Bargarh district. The priest (60) was admitted to hospital. DIG (western range) Y B Khurania said, "Rajani Majhi, a student of Padampur Women's College, used to take care of the children at the orphanage. There are 22 kids at the orphanage and they are all safe." "She was a local employee of the orphanage attached to the church," said Babu Joseph, spokesman for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India. Violence was reported from across the state as mobs also attacked Christian homes, schools and police posts during the dawn-to-dusk bandh.