The murder of Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique in Mumbai kicked off a political storm, with the Opposition parties, including the Congress, on Sunday alleging "complete collapse" of law and order in Maharashtra where assembly polls are due next month.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and the NCP, the ruling parties in the state, asserted that those involved in the killing of Siddique will not be spared, and slammed the Opposition for indulging in "petty politics" on the crime.
Sixty-six-year-old Siddique, a former Maharashtra minister who joined the Ajit Pawar-led NCP in February this year after quitting the Congress, was waylaid by three men at Kher Nagar in Mumbai's Bandra area just outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique's office and shot dead on Saturday night.
The police have arrested two of the alleged assailants, identified as Haryana resident Gurmail Baljit Singh (23) and Uttar Pradesh native Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19), while third accused is on the run.
The Congress on Sunday demanded a thorough probe into Siddique's murder and said Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, who holds home portfolio, should take moral responsibility for law and order "failure" and resign.
Such killings show that the law-and-order situation in the state has failed, the opposition party said, claiming that the government was trying to postpone the election dates somehow through these incidents.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi said the Maharashtra government must take responsibility and order a thorough and transparent investigation.
"The tragic demise of Baba Siddique ji is shocking and saddening. My thoughts are with his family in this difficult time. This horrifying incident exposes the complete collapse of law and order in Maharashtra. The government must take responsibility, and justice must prevail," Gandhi said on X.
"Justice must be ensured, and the present Maharashtra Govt must order a thorough and transparent investigation. The culprits must be brought to book at the earliest. Accountability is paramount," Kharge posted on the social media platform.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Today, the Maha Vikas Aghadi released a chargesheet against the Mahayuti Government, aptly titled 'Gaddarancha Panchnama'."
"This is a Government which was formed on betrayal, which has sold out Maharashtra's interests shamelessly, and which has sullied the ideals and legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj himself," he added.
Congress leader Imran Pratapgarhi, a Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra, said, "Maharashtra home minister should take responsibility for this and resign. Our condolences are with Baba Siddique's family in this hour of grief."
"Law and order has reached its lowest ebb. The responsibility for this lies with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis," he said.
Targeting the government, party leader Ragini Nayak said, "When the government itself becomes the patron of criminals, the morale of criminals remains high."
With a 'double-engine' government, the responsibility also doubles, she said, adding, "In this case, if the government has even a little bit of morality left, then Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis and Amit Shah should resign."
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar chief Sharad Pawar has targeted the state government, saying there is a need to take responsibility over the incident and for the rulers to step down.
NCP-SCP state president Jayant Patil asked, "If a leader from the ruling alliance is not safe, how can the government keep the common man safe?.
AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal claimed that people across the country are "scared" by the killing Siddique, and gangsters have created an almost similar atmosphere in Delhi.
"The incident of killing of an NCP leader in public in Mumbai has scared the people not only in Maharshtra but the whole country. They have created an almost similar atmosphere in Delhi. They want to bring Gangster Raj in entire country. Public will now have to stand up to them," Kejriwal said in a post on X.
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav expressed shock at the murder of Siddique, asserting that the incident exposed the 'crumbling' law and order situation in Maharashtra.
"The incident is shocking and saddening. I knew him personally as he was a native of Bihar's Gopalganj district. If such an incident can take place in a city like Mumbai, especially in the Bandra area, one could say that no one is safe there..."
"This shows the crumbling law and order situation in that state. My thoughts are with his family in this difficult time," Yadav told reporters in Patna.
However, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said his party leader Siddique's murder should not be politicised and asserted the state government will not rest till the guilty are brought to book.
"We are heartbroken, struggling to grasp the cruelty of this incident. This is not just a political loss, it's a deeply personal tragedy that has shaken us all," the NCP leader said in a post on X.
"I strongly urge everyone to resist the temptation to politicise this horrifying event. This is not the time for division or for exploiting the pain of others for political advantage. Right now, our focus must be on ensuring that justice is served," he said.
The BJP said those involved in the killing of Siddique will not be spared.
"The entire country is saddened by his murder but the opposition leaders are indulging in petty politics on this issue," BJP national spokesperson and former Union minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain told PTI.
Senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi also slammed the opposition leaders and said it was not right for them to make "insensitive remarks on such a sensitive issue".
Meanwhile, Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis said police have found some leads in connection with the Siddique's killing.
Different angles behind the killing were being probed, but police will talk about it later, Fadnavis told reporters in Gondia district.
"Some leads have been found, but I cannot reveal them now. Some angles behind the attack are also found, but police will talk about it once the legal procedure is over," the BJP leader said.
The Mumbai police have launched a probe into the murder from different angles, including a possible contract killing, business rivalry or threat over a slum rehabilitation project, officials said.
The murder of the NCP leader, who represented Bandra (West) seat three times in the assembly, is suspected to be a pre-planned act, a police official said.
A team from the Delhi Police's Special Cell is also set to be dispatched to Mumbai to assist in the investigation of Siddique's murder, police sources said.
The shooters opened four to five rounds of fire from a 9.9 MM pistol which was recovered by police, the police said.
During the probe, police found the assailants fired at Siddique when people started bursting firecrackers during a Durga 'visarjan' procession, a police official said.
Chief Minister Shinde said the incident is deeply regrettable. "We have directed the police to ensure no one takes law into their hands under any circumstances. We cannot allow any form of gang war to resurface in our city."
A prominent Muslim leader from Mumbai who had earned praise for supplying life-saving medicines to patients during the Covid pandemic, Siddique was also known to be close to several Bollywood stars, including Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Dutt.
The assassination of Baba Siddique is the first high-profile political murder in Mumbai in last three decades.
