Senior leaders of the Uttar Pradesh unit of the BJP on Saturday termed the reports that party President Amit Shah had cancelled the 'padyatra' (march) in Meerut on Friday due to thin attendance of supporters as "mere rumours" aimed at unsettling the party.
A senior party leader said that the 1.5-km march was called off at the last minute by Shah to protest the murder of a trader who was allegedly shot dead by robbers a day ago.
Shah announced this at the end of his address in Meerut on Friday where he said that he was sad at the tragedy and asked the workers to rather fan out in every nook and corner of the city and ensure that the people vote for the BJP so that the goons perpetrating such crimes are thrown behind bars.
He also sought the endorsement of the workers whether the decision to cancel the march was correct or not.
He later went and met the family of the deceased trader and assured all support to the bereaved family.
Vijay Bahadur Pathak, state General Secretary of the party, told IANS that the Bharatiya Janata Party was "sensitive to human emotions" and hence the charges of the Opposition were not only unfounded but also sad.
Abhishek, the son of a gutka distributor Sushil Verma, was killed after some men attacked and robbed them at their office on Sharda Road. Four other traders, including Sushil, sustained bullet injuries.
--IANS
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