Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Gaurav Bhatia, on Sunday attacked the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), for what he alleged ' behaving irresponsibly' in Uttar Pradesh and gave a veiled warning about the state government getting tough to deal with those leaders who incite violence.
Commenting on the Saharanpur violence, Bhatia told ANI,"The unfortunate part here is that public servants, like the MPs and MLAs, who are expected to behave in a responsible manner are trying their best to communalise the atmosphere here in UP. The BJP state president Laxmikant Bajpai was making such inciting statements, I think, that are the most unfortunate part.The state government would deal with these leaders with an iron hand. We will ensure that no clashes anywhere in the state take place because of the irresponsible behaviour of the BJP; this needs to be condemned."
The SP leader expressed regret about the unfortunate incident, but at the same time appeared to be bailing out the state government, over its approach in dealing with the tense situation positively.
"It is unfortunate the way the things have shaped up. At the same time the state government has brought the situation under control, curfew has been imposed in that sensitive area plus adequate force has been called for and the PAC,RAF and other paramilitary forces have been deployed in the areas to ensure that there is no further clash between the communities,".
On Saturday morning violent clashes had erupted in Saharanpur amongst two groups who reportedly clashed over a patch of disputed land close to the city's railway station.