Sparring over Kairana "migration" intensified today with the ruling Samajwadi Party and Congress rubbishing reports of exodus and alleging that atmosphere was being vitiated by BJP which gave a 15-day ultimatum to the Uttar Pradesh government to bring back those who have shifted.
Mounting pressure, state BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya met Governor Ram Naik with the demand for a CBI probe into the "exodus" while presenting the report of a five-member party team that visited Kairana area in Shamli district for an on-the-spot assessment.
BJP MLA Sangeet Som, an accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots case, also took out a rally to highlight the issue.
Countering it, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Atul Pradhan also took out a separate rally.
Som gave a 15-day ultimatum to the UP government to bring back those who had left Kairana, in an apparent bid to keep the issue alive ahead of Assembly polls in the state early next year.
Almost around the same time, SP spokesman and senior Cabinet Minister Shivpal Yadav hurriedly convened a press conference to accuse BJP of "vitiating" the communal atmosphere in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the polls.
"There is no exodus in Kairana or anywhere in the state. We have intelligence and other reports in this regard. BJP leaders including Hukum Singh and others are inciting communal passions for political gains as Assembly elections are near," he said.
"Their only work is to orchestrate riots...They are the same people who masterminded Muzzafarnagar riots," he said, adding, "...Be it Sangeet Som or anyone else, the state government will not let anyone to plan riots. We will collect proof against them and will expose them before media soon".
In a similar refrain, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Pradip Mathur rubbished reports of migration from Kairana on communal lines and accused BJP of "poisoning" the atmosphere in the state to polarise votes before the polls.
CPI-M leader Md Salim said a section of Kairana's population including both Hindus and Muslims have migrated from the UP town over years due to socio-economic issues and criminalisation and not because of communalisation and demanded that BJP apologise for its Hindu exodos claims.
BSP chief Mayawati, meanwhile, attacked both SP and BJP, saying the yatras by the two parties smacks of an "understanding" between them to somehow vitiate the communal atmosphere for reaping political benefits by instigating riots.
