BJP-RSS dominance spoiling Bihar's communal harmony, Nitish Kumar watching helplessly: Congress

The Congress today alleged that growing dominance of the BJP-RSS combine was the reason behind a rise in the incidents of communal violence in the state and took a jibe at Nitish Kumar saying the chief minister seemed helpless.

A party delegation led by Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee acting chief Kaukab Qadri met Governor Satya Pal Mallik and submitted a memorandum seeking a judicial probe in to clashes in Aurangabad town during a Ram Navami procession on Sunday and deployment of additional forces in the affected areas.

"The Governor assured us that our concerns would be looked into. However, we have a strong feeling that the recent vitiation of atmosphere in Bihar is a result of the growing dominance of the BJP-RSS combine which is trying to use the state as a laboratory for its own brand of politics," Qadri told PTI.

"We have reports that in Aurangabad, which is a district in the Magadh region with no history of communal tension, people from other parts of the state and even from outside Bihar had gathered ahead of Ram Navami," he said.

The communal violence there was preplanned and the reported shouting of provocative slogans followed by arson was part of a well thought out strategy, he alleged.

The rising dominance of the BJP-RSS is also preventing the bureaucracy from acting effectively against such attempts at communal polarization. The matter has been made worse by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar appearing helpless," the BPCC leader said.

After disintegration of the RJD-JD(U)-Congress alliance, which was also called the Grand Alliance, in July last year, Nitish Kumar joined hands with the to form a coalition government in Bihar.

Kumar is the chief minister in the new dispensation and senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi is his deputy.

The Congress is maintaining its ties with the RJD to give a strong opposition to the NDA government in the state.