Firebrand BJP MP Yogi Adityanath has compared the situation in western Uttar Pradesh to that in Kashmir in 1990s, when Kashmiri Pandits had to flee the Valley, while the party defended its leaders over their controversial remarks during the poll campaign on the alleged exodus of Hindu families from Kairana.
"Western Uttar Pradesh is following in the footsteps of Kashmir. In 1990, Kashmir Pandits were forced to migrate in large numbers,” Gorakhpur MP Adityanath said at election meetings in Loni and Sahibabad last evening.
Crime, corruption and ‘goondaraj’ are at their peak in Uttar Pradesh. Like there was exodus in Kashmir in 1990s, similar is the situation in Kairana (in Shamli) and other districts where the failure to act shows that the criminals are emboldened. Till when will the state government continue its vote bank politics at the cost of security.Yogi Adityanath
His remarks came even as BJP MLA Suresh Rana, an accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, was booked on Monday by Uttar Pradesh Police on charges of inciting hatred. At a meeting, Rana said that curfew will be imposed in Kairana, Deoband and Moradabad if he is elected again in Assembly polls next month.
BJP Backs Adityanath
Asked about Adityanath's remarks, BJP's UP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya on Tuesday said the situation in Western UP was "very bad". Maurya also accused the Samajwadi Party government of giving patronage to goons who were responsible for migration of people.
Something which has happened due to the failure of the government and if some of our leaders have talked about it, what wrong have they done.Keshav Prasad Maurya
Kicking up a row, BJP MP Hukum Singh had in June last year claimed that close to 350 Hindus had left Kairana over alleged threats and extortion by criminal elements belonging to a particular community. Singh, however, had later done a U-turn saying it was not a communal matter.
‘Not Communal’
Adityanath on Tuesday insisted that his statements should should not be seen as communal.
I have not named any caste, community, religion. We are not dividing people on the ground of religion. It is not communal politics. If elected to power, the BJP will ensure that migration doesn’t take place from these regions, district collectors will be responsible for this. A special taskforce will be formed for the purpose.Yogi Adityanath
(With PTI inputs)
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