Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Wednesday that the riots in Hyderabad were a result of "petty skirmishes" and asserted that all those behind the violence would have to pay a "heavy price".
He appealed to the people of Hyderabad to keep in mind the "fair name" of their city and state and not be "misguided by a few rowdy and hot-headed elements" who were responsible for the violence.
Chidambaram said he had spoken to Andhra Chief Minister K Rosaiah and Hyderabad Police Commissioner and was confident that the situation would return to normal soon. "Hot-headed and rowdy elements of both sides seemed to have broken the law. They will have to pay a heavy price," he told reporters here when asked to comment on the situation in the Andhra Pradesh capital where riots broke out two days ago.
He said petty skirmishes have broke out following stone pelting and clashes between two groups over hoisting of green and saffron flags. "These are petty skirmishes. Unfortunately, both sides have some undesirable elements. As on this morning 130 people have been arrested," he said.
Chidambaram said Hyderabad has been peaceful throughout the day today and he had spoken to the city Police Commissioner and strict instructions have been given to police to take action impartially and fearlessly. "Both sides have been strictly warned not to disturb peace and I hope that the situation will calm down and peace will return to the city soon," he said adding "there was no provocation for this kind of violence".
The Home Minister said adequate forces have been sent to Andhra Pradesh to deal with the situation. "My appeal to the people of Hyderabad -- please keep in mind the fair name of the city and fair name of the state and not be misguided by a few rowdy and hot-headed elements," he said. Asked whether there there was any conspiracy angle in the violence, Chidambaram said nothing of that sort has been found yet.
On the reports that Maoist leader Kishenji was injured in a recent encounter with security forces in West Midnapore district of West Bengal, Chidambaram refused to confirm or deny and wryly said that rebel leader had "not called any of you in the last 10 days." To a question, he said he would be visiting trouble-torn Lalgarh but refused to say when. Slamming the Maoists, Chidambaram described them as a "grave threat to our internal security" and said they needed to be "dealt with firmly and boldly".
Observing that the Maoists believe in violence, he said, "No one should have any illusions about the motives and methods of the CPI (Maoist). They believe in armed liberation struggle. They kill and loot indiscriminately." He said the central government and the state governments concerned will continue to deal with Maoists strongly. He said the two-day bandh call on March 22-23 led to widespread violence perpetrated by the CPI (Maoist) in six states. There were 34 incidents in which 6 civilians and 4 members of the security forces were killed. Besides, 10 civilians and 16 members of the security forces were injured. The CPI (Maoist) targeted railway tracks, roads, a toll plaza, mobile towers and other infrastructure.
