A delegation of parliamentarians from various opposition parties will on Thursday visit Kandhala and Kairana in western Uttar Pradesh where the BJP leaders have alleged "mass exodus of Hindus".
The delegation will consist of Janata Dal-United's K.C. Tyagi, Communist Party of India-Marxist's Mohammed Salim, Communist Party of India's D. Raja, Nationalist Congress Party's D.P. Tripathi and Rashtriya Janata Dal spokesperson Manoj Jha, among others.
"The delegation will meet members of all sections of society and address a gathering in Kairana," JD-U leader K.C. Tyagi said.
"We all strongly condemn Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah's statement that the Kairana exodus will be taken up at an all-India level. This statement has created anxiety and tension in western Uttar Pradesh," Tyagi said.
The JD-U leader alleged that having "tasted success" in (riots in) Godhra in Gujarat and Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, the right wing forces may try to replicate the same before the coming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh in 2017.
"Taking advantage of lawlessness in some parts of Uttar Pradesh, the BJP is again trying to play the communal card," he said.
BJP MP Hukum Singh had claimed that Hindu families were leaving in large numbers from Muslim-majority Kairana town in Shamli district under duress.
However, on Tuesday, he retracted from his earlier stand and said it was not a communal issue but one of law and order. He released another list of 63 persons who had fled from neighbouring Kandhala.
--IANS
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