The installation of the statue of the Maratha king was opposed by AIMIM and TRS workers, who alleged that correct permissions had not been taken. The protests led to violence, prompting the police to clamp down prohibitory orders in the area
A statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was erected in Bodhan town of Telangana’s Nizamabad district. Representational image/PTI
An uneasy calm hung in the air in Telangana’s Nizamabad district on Monday — on Chhatrapati Shivaji Jayanti — after it witnessed violence and stone-pelting over the weekend.
Prohibitory orders have been clamped down in the town of Bodhan in Nizamabad following the violence that broke out over the installation of a Shivaji statue.
We take a look at what happened and why violence ensued in the town.
The incident
The trouble started in Bodhan when a group of activists of Hindu organisations — Hindu Vahini and Bajrang Dal — installed a Chhatrapati Shivaji statue at Ambedkar Centre in the early hours of Sunday.
However, according to reports, AIMIM and Telangana Rashtra Samithi workers took objection to it, contending that there was no permission to do so.
Soon tempers ran high and both the groups began raising slogans and started attacking each other with stones.
The activists of the Hindu organisations argued that the municipal council had passed a resolution to install the statue and that there should not be any objection it. But the AIMIM and TRS activists maintained that though the resolution had been passed, no official proceedings were initiated and therefore, the statue could not be installed.
BJP MP from Nizamabad Dharmapuri Arvind remained adamant that all permissions had been obtained. But, the AIMIM and TRS opposed the statue.
He tweeted on Sunday: