Over the past two weeks Madhya Pradesh has been witnessing a spate of such communal clashes, during fund collection drives organised by right-wing groups for the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. There been reports about chanting of provocative slogans that lead to violent clashes in Ujjain, Indore and Mandsaur.

In fact, a viral video showed a mob attacking a Mosque in Mandsaur district, where people were seen mounting a saffron flag atop the dome. But despite such incidents, there’s been reports of fresh violence in Rajgarh district, as people gathered outside a mosque bearing saffron flags and wielding hockey sticks while chanting slogans.

In several of these episodes, eyewitnesses claim that the police remained "mute spectators"; in one case, authorities even razed down the house of a Muslim daily wage earner.

But curiously the MP state government's focus amidst all this seems to be on punishing stone pelters. On 3 January, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan announced that his government is looking to implement stringent laws against stone pelters that will include a provision to auction their assets to repay for any damages.

For the most part of his political career, Shivraj Singh Chauhan has enjoyed the goodwill of his people, maintained a peaceful status quo in the state, and garnered praises for his graceful political demeanour (which is said to be lacking in the BJP's new guard), but is his response to the violence in the state suggesting a shift towards a communal rhetoric?

Producer and Host: Shorbori Purkayastha Guest: Kashif Kakvi, MP-based Journalist Javed Alam, MP-based Journalist

Editor: Shelly Walia

Music: Big Bang Fuzz

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