Congress criticizes BJP for spreading communal riots in UP, demands Yogi Adityanath's arrest

Congress leader Rashid Alvi on Monday criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for trying to spread communal riots in Uttar Pradesh and appealed to the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party Government to initiate prompt action against Yogi Adityanath for his controversial statement on the minority community.

"Yogi Adityanath should be quickly arrested and a legal investigation should be carried out. He is a threat to the society. I think he is not aware that the Muslim population in Gujarat is very less despite that the biggest communal riots took place there," said Congress leader Rashid Alvi.

Alvi further said Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav is absolutely correct that the BJP wants to spread communal riots in Uttar Pradesh.

"This is their main motive and this is what they want to do in the state but Mulayam should take action against Yogi Adityanath and get him arrested," he added.

Congress leader Manish Tewari echoing similar sentiments on the issue said the BJP's main agenda is to undermine the idea of India. Tewari said it is unfortunate that the Uttar Pradesh government is not taking action against people like Yogi Adityanath, who are polarizing the society.

"In so far as the BJP is concerned from top to bottom they have only one agenda as to how to undermine the idea of India and, therefore, from the Prime Minister downwards to the last man in the last row of the Sangh Pariwar they are hell bent upon ensuring that the whole pluralistic idea of India is undermined and in some manner if not de jure but de facto they are able to change or transform the entire basis of India's nationhood," he said.

Adityanath had earlier made a controversial remark that the people have to accept the fact that the possibility of riots is more where the minority population is in large numbers.

He also said that the non-Muslim population in Muslim-dominated areas can never feel safe due to fear of riots any moment.