With communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh leaving 31 dead (till reports last came in), political parties have lashed out at the Samjawadi Party (SP) government in the state for its laxity. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal have demanded President’s rule in the state.
The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance opted to publicly “appeal to the UP government to control the situation”. Privately, Congress leaders admitted it “appears to be a fixed match between the SP and the BSP to polarise the state in the run-up to 2014.”
When questioned about the SP government’s complicity in the riots, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari on Monday merely said, “The task before us now is to ensure normalcy returns in the area. After things are under control, we shall have time to analyse who was responsible.” He stressed “law and order is a state subject”, adding the Centre could only render assistance when requested.
Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed tweeted, “According to the media, in a strategic move, the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) has directed the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) to concentrate on Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and South India for political gains in 2014.”
Senior Congress leaders admit the SP had been a silent bystander to the escalating violence. They added it was in the interest of the ruling SP and the BJP to communalise the polity. “After all, the SP is bent on raking in the Muslim vote and the BJP is going all out to garner the Hindu vote. This was made very obvious when Amit Shah was sent to UP as state in-charge and he revived talks of building the temple,” said a Congress leader.
Congress leaders say it’s only by communally surcharging the atmosphere that these two political parties hope to overcome the challenges posed by the complex caste lines in the state. “It’s only then that Hindus and Muslims will vote on religious lines and caste considerations will take a backseat,” said another Congress leader.
BSP chief Mayawati said she sensed a “fixed match”, blaming the SP and the BJP for the violence. She sought the imposition of President’s rule in the state. “One can see the hands of the BJP and the SP behind this. Lok Sabha polls are near and both the parties want to give a communal colour to the polls...It is their political game plan,” she said.
The Left parties have accused the UP government of laxity. “The large-scale riot was sparked off by a small incident which occurred nearly ten days earlier, but the laxity of the administration allowed the communal elements to exploit the situation,” the Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo said in a statement.
The fact that SP leader and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav chose to address the media wearing a skull cap wasn’t lost on anyone; microblogging site Twitter was abuzz with tweets lambasting the SP.
While the Army has been called in to control the situation, the Union home ministry on Monday asked the state government to send situation reports every 12 hours till normalcy returned.
