Maharashtra government blamed for Nagpur riots, says Patole

Former Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole has accused the BJP-led Mahayuti government of being responsible for the recent riots in Nagpur. He made these claims during a discussion in the Legislative Assembly. Patole said there was administrative negligence and biased actions by law enforcement. He argued that the government had not handled the situation effectively. He questioned the police's inaction against those who started the violence. "The riots did not happen out of nowhere," he said. Patole pointed out an incident during the riots where a religious cloth was burned in front of police officers. He believes that if the police had acted quickly, the situation would not have worsened. Moreover, Patole criticized the government for not taking action against people who made offensive comments about historical figures. He specifically mentioned Kunal Kamra's controversial poem about Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and questioned why no steps were taken against former journalist Prashant Koratkar and actor Rahul Solapurkar. He expressed concerns about police behavior related to recent deaths. Patole mentioned Somnath Suryawanshi, stating that he was misled about the cause of death. He demanded to know who ordered police actions that led to such incidents. Furthermore, Patole highlighted staffing issues within the police force. He noted that there are only 155 officers for every one lakh people, with over 21,000 positions unfilled. He pointed out the low number of women officers, stressing the need for the state government to provide clarity on these staffing shortages.