Gujarat governor seeks report on inflammatory posters

GANDHINAGAR - Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal has asked for a report from the state government on the controversial hoardings aimed at inciting communal passions which have appeared in various cities of the state.

The governor, in a letter to the state home ministry and the director general of police, has sought a report on the subject at the earliest, sources said. The letter comes soon after parts of Ahmedabad witnessed an intense bout of communal rioting which left one person dead and more than 25 injured.

The hoardings first appeared in Vadodara just before the state’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party launched a countrywide agitation against the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) accusing it of functioning as an extension of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to defame the police and people of Gujarat.

The hoarding equated alleged staged gunfight victim Sohrabudin Sheikh with terrorists and accused the Congress of supporting such anti-nationals while jailing the police officers and men involved.

The Congress had earlier submitted a memorandum to the governor charging the BJP with inciting communal disturbances for electoral gains with the ensuing municipal and panchayat elections in mind.