Akhilesh Yadav is under fire for failing to stop the violence.
Muzaffarnagar:
At a function to see off Haj pilgrims leaving for Mecca, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav today requested them to "pray for peace and brotherhood." The 40-year-old has been severely censured for failing to stop communal violence and restore peace in Muzaffarnagar, where 30 people have died in the last three days.
His senior minister Azam Khan accused "communal forces" of trying to destabilise the Samajwadi Party government in India's most populous state. Mr Khan and other SP leaders have suggested that the BJP and its affiliates are trying to provoke communal tension to appeal to right-wing voters ahead of general elections.
This morning the state government barred politicians from Muzaffarnagar and began to detain leaders who set out from Delhi towards violence-hit western UP, in nearby Ghaziabad. Among those stopped there were union minister Ajit Singh and a posse of BJP leaders led by Ravi Shankar Prasad. A Congress team was also turned back from the adjoining Shamli district.
Mr Prasad, who had earlier accused the ruling Samajwadi Party of "favouring a particular community," said, "Why has action been taken only against members from other parties, and nothing against Samajwadi Party leaders? The UP government is unable to evoke confidence that it is equal for all."
The UP police have booked four BJP legislators and a senior Congress leader for allegedly making incendiary speeches that provoked religious hatred at a farmers' meet - or mahapanchayat - on Saturday. As farmers left the meeting, the situation spiralled into the violence that continues.
The accused political leaders say they are being made scapegoats by the Samajwadi Party.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, who was ousted last year by Akhilesh Yadav in the UP assembly elections, has alleged that the communal tension is the result of a "BJP-Samajwadi Party conspiracy" to polarise votes of both communities. The SP government counts the 18 per cent Muslims in UP as its major vote base.
"I think the BJP and SP are hand-in-glove. Both the parties want to create communal tension in the run up to the polls," said Ms Mayawati, reiterating her demand that the Yadav government be sacked.
His senior minister Azam Khan accused "communal forces" of trying to destabilise the Samajwadi Party government in India's most populous state. Mr Khan and other SP leaders have suggested that the BJP and its affiliates are trying to provoke communal tension to appeal to right-wing voters ahead of general elections.
This morning the state government barred politicians from Muzaffarnagar and began to detain leaders who set out from Delhi towards violence-hit western UP, in nearby Ghaziabad. Among those stopped there were union minister Ajit Singh and a posse of BJP leaders led by Ravi Shankar Prasad. A Congress team was also turned back from the adjoining Shamli district.
Mr Prasad, who had earlier accused the ruling Samajwadi Party of "favouring a particular community," said, "Why has action been taken only against members from other parties, and nothing against Samajwadi Party leaders? The UP government is unable to evoke confidence that it is equal for all."
The UP police have booked four BJP legislators and a senior Congress leader for allegedly making incendiary speeches that provoked religious hatred at a farmers' meet - or mahapanchayat - on Saturday. As farmers left the meeting, the situation spiralled into the violence that continues.
The accused political leaders say they are being made scapegoats by the Samajwadi Party.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, who was ousted last year by Akhilesh Yadav in the UP assembly elections, has alleged that the communal tension is the result of a "BJP-Samajwadi Party conspiracy" to polarise votes of both communities. The SP government counts the 18 per cent Muslims in UP as its major vote base.
"I think the BJP and SP are hand-in-glove. Both the parties want to create communal tension in the run up to the polls," said Ms Mayawati, reiterating her demand that the Yadav government be sacked.
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