Hyderabad: Reports of death and destruction emerging from the on-going airstrikes and bombardment by Israel on Palestinian people in Gaza following the Hamas attack, has been robbing the Indian security agencies of their sleep, especially in the poll-bound states.
One major concern for security agencies is the increased politicisation of the Israel-Hamas war by political parties in India. The ruling BJP is openly supporting Israel, while other political parties, like the Congress, are showing solidarity with the Palestinian people. This stark divide is leading to harsh verbal exchanges between supporters of each side on social media.
The contrasting stances on this issue are causing disputes. The top security officials feel it may not take a long time for people to take to the streets to support or denounce the actions of either party.
Of the five India states going to polls next month, at least three have a significant Muslim population. As Muslims consider Israel an enemy of Islam, security agencies feel there could be some, if not huge, impact on campaigning.
The police in several communally sensitive cities across the country, including Hyderabad, are watching the developments closely to maintain law and order.
Former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal called for protests across the Muslim world on Friday in support of the Palestinians, and asked people from neighbouring countries to join the fight against Israel, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
This announcement has alerted the law enforcement agencies, who have a tough task ahead of them in ensuring law and order in the wake of elections.
In Telangana, where AIMIM and Congress are at loggerheads, AIMIM party president Asaduddin Owaisi had said that for a long time India was supporting the Palestine cause. Asaduddin said that India historically stood with Palestine. He further claimed the shift in India’s policy (towards the Palestinian cause) changed because of Congress.
He referred to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s old video in which he spoke in favour of the Palestinian cause, Owaisi has said, “A late BJP leader once said about Palestine that land worth billions has been acquired. We had released a post stamp in solidarity with Palestine. This changed when Congress came into power.”
The police are concerned that any major incident related to the Israel-Palestine conflict might provoke public condemnation, leading to large-scale protests amid the ongoing use of this conflict as a campaign issue by political parties.
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