As Indore struggles to return to normalcy and victims’ families try to come to grips with their losses, the ruling BJP and the main opposition party Congress are engaged in a vicious campaign blaming each other for turning the town into a tinderbox.

The commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh has witnessed several incidents of communal violence over the last couple of years. But it was for the first time since the riots that followed the Babri Masjid demolition that the entire town was brought under curfew again.

Congress leader Digvijay Singh, who was chief minister of the state for ten years, says when a chief minister wants, he can ensure that no communal riot takes place in the state. He promptly blamed the ruling party for the riots.

The Congress felt Chouhan’s assertion that “the Jammu and Kashmir Government’s decision on the land transfer (to the Amarnath shrine board) had insulted the majority community” only added fuel to the fire and signalled to the administration and police that they were supposed to go soft on elements involved in violence.

No wonder, the state’s Director General of Police quote on record that “even God can’t predict when a communal situation can be completely brought under control.”

The BJP, for its part, blames the riots on the Congress, saying the Students’ Islamic Movement of India prospered during its 10-year-long reign in the central Indian state. The ruling party is sure that the communal disturbances have been engineered by the proscribed students’ organisation.

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