Ghaziabad: Invoking the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots and the killing of kar sevaks in Ayodhya in police firing in 1990, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said in Ghaziabad that the Bharatiya Janata Party gave a fitting reply to criminals and can provide security to people of the state that is set to elect a new assembly.
Adityanath’s visit, the fourth in recent days, was on a day when Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary were also in Ghaziabad on the campaigning trail.
Ghaziabad goes to the polls on February 10. The BJP has given tickets to all the five sitting MLAs this time.
Adityanath recounted the killing of two young men in 2013 in Kawal town of Muzaffarnagar in western UP. In August 2013, members of the Jat community of nearby Malikpura village, around 4 km from Kawal, allegedly killed Shahnawaz, a Muslim youth, after an altercation. In retaliation, a mob from Kawal killed two Jats. The communal violence that ensued led the death of at least 60 people.
“I wish to ask whether these people who are accused of Muzaffarnagar riots and killings of Ram bhakts (those killed during the demolition of Babri Masjid) are eligible to seek votes,” Adityanath said. “Those whose caps are coloured with the blood of Hindus are preaching the message of peace and harmony. They are spreading message of peace in times when tickets have been given to people responsible for riots in different areas like Kairana, Bulandshahr, Siyana and Muzaffarnagar.”
The chief minister was obliquely referring to the red caps worn by leaders of the Samajwadi Party, which is mounting a serious challenge to the incumbent BJP.
“But they don’t know that the rule of law will remain in UP after March 10 (when votes will be counted),” Adityanath said. “We will not allow them to play with the safety and security of the people of UP.”
BJP leaders are campaigning in western UP for the first phase of the assembly elections and trying to woo Jat voters, who supported the party during the 2014 and 2019 general elections and the 2017 assembly polls.
“I wish to tell you that these goondas (criminals) will come with placards hanging to their neck and they will be doing small chores to earn their livelihood in streets and lanes. They will not be able to terrorise traders and businessmen,” the chief minister said. “No riots took place during our tenure and helicopters showered petals on kanwariyas (Shiva devotees who undertake a pilgrimage in August every year).”
Adityanath has repeatedly raised the issue of riots during previous regimes on his visits to western UP.
“He knows that the BJP is trailing these elections, and he is every time trying to revive the old memories (of riots) in a bid to create a communal divide during the election season in order to garner votes,” said Samajwadi Party district president Rashid Malik. “Our party has made it clear that we have the development agenda. Even voters this time are seeking development and are not interested in old issues.”
The communal riots and the rule of law could be important issues in the assembly elections in western UP, a political observer said.
“Everyone knows that the Muzaffarnagar riots created a divide between Jats and Muslims, who are eyed as voters by the SP and its ally, Rashtriya Lok Dal,” said KK Sharma, professor of history at MM College in Modinagar. “The BJP leaders bring up and revive the issue of riots to garner Jat voters, who are dominant in western UP. By reviving the issue of riots, the BJP is trying to tell voters that it is the only party who can provide safety and security.”