Subhechcha Ganguly 
Police were on alert in Bihar and West Bengal ahead of the Hanuman Jayanti on Thursday after receiving criticism over a series of communal clashes during Ram Navami celebrations that sparked a blame game between the ruling parties of the two states and opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Hindu groups were anticipated to take out public relations campaigns during the Hanuman Jayanti. During the Hanuman Jayanti celebrations last year, reports of communal violence were made in cities including Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal.
A day after new violence disrupted local railway services in Rishra town in the Hooghly district, the Union home ministry on Tuesday requested a report on the Ram Navami disturbances from the West Bengal administration. On Tuesday, Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, appealed for peace and accused the BJP of inciting the unrest, even as governor CV Ananda Bose cut short his trip to Darjeeling and visited unrest-stricken regions in the Hoogly district. Stones allegedly were thrown at a Ram Navami procession on March 30 in Bengal’s Howrah district, igniting the first round of violence. Over the following three days, the violence escalated to the North Dinajpur and Hooghly districts, which caused the Calcutta High Court to request a report.
Following the arrest of Sumit Sau from Munger in Bihar after he was allegedly seen in footage of Ram Navami processions with firearms, Banerjee accused the BJP of bringing in paid thugs from outside the state to incite violence.Suvendu Adhikari, a leader for the BJP, charged Banerjee with using polarising tactics to maintain her position and deflect attention from unemployment and corruption.Following the arrest of Sumit Sau from Munger in Bihar after he was allegedly seen in footage of Ram Navami processions with firearms, Banerjee accused the BJP of bringing in paid thugs from outside the state to incite violence.
Suvendu Adhikari, a leader for the BJP, charged Banerjee with using polarising tactics to maintain her position and deflect attention from unemployment and corruption.
