New Delhi: The political temperature rose sharply on Monday over the Cuttack violence, as opposition leaders slammed the BJP, accusing it of engineering unrest for political gains. 

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari condemned the incident, alleging a deliberate attempt to stoke communal divisions.

“The public is living peacefully and happily. However, the BJP is deliberately creating polarisation. All of this is happening solely to provoke polarisation, and it is sponsored and protected by the BJP government," Tiwari said.

Echoing similar concerns, Shiv Sena(UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said the clashes were indicative of the BJP’s alleged strategy to divide people along communal lines.

“This is a very unfortunate incident. It shows that whenever the BJP government comes to power, it works to polarise the people. We have never seen such violence in the history of Odisha. Till Naveen Patnaik was in power, we did not hear any news of clashes between the two parties due to polarisation,” she said.

The remarks came after violent clashes erupted in Cuttack on Sunday between members of various Hindu organisations and the police during a protest rally at Dargha Bazar, the site of an earlier attack on a Durga Puja idol procession on Friday night.

In response to the escalating tension, the administration imposed a curfew in several sensitive areas for 36 hours, beginning Sunday evening.

Speaking at a press conference, Commissioner of Police S. Dev Datta Singh stated, “The situation has been brought under control. A curfew has been imposed in the violence-affected area and other vulnerable areas for the next 36 hours. Any person found participating in riots will be dealt with strictly.”

The curfew has been enforced in areas including Dargha Bazar, Mangalabag, Cantonment, Puri Ghat, Lalbag, Bidanasi, Markatnagar, CDA Phase II, Malgodown, Badambadi, Jagatpur, 42 Mouza, and Sadar police station limits.

However, essential services like medical facilities, milk supply, groceries, schools, and government offices have been exempted.

The police confirmed that four persons were injured during the violence that broke out amid the Durga idol immersion procession on Friday night. (IANS)