Amid outcry over lynching of a man in Dadri over rumour of consuming beef, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday alleged that some forces doing politics on communal lines were conspiring to defame his government and stall development in the state.
“Some forces are conspiring to spread communalism and we have to remain alert from them,” Akhilesh said while addressing representatives of Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSME).
Describing the Dadri incident as a “well-planned conspiracy”, the UP government blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, on the other hand, termed the incident as “unfortunate” and appealed to the people to maintain communal harmony.
“The incident of Dadri lynching is a well-planned conspiracy of the BJP for political gains. Despite much hue and cry, we did not stop anyone from visiting the village so that they could know the truth and ground reality,” said state Cabinet Minister Shivpal Yadav.
“We are keeping an eye on hate-mongers. They have orchestrated riots in Muzaffarnagar and are trying the same in other parts of the state. Stern directives have been given to district-level officers. Now <g data-gr-id="40">action</g> will also be taken against them if they were found lax,” said Yadav, who is the brother of Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The Chief Minister said some forces want to defame the state government. He said this while addressing representatives of Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSME). The Chief Minister said: “Today when the world is marching ahead on the path of progress, some forces doing politics on communal lines want to take the country and the state towards backwardness.”
He added those “forces” are “raising issues and debates which harm all sections of the society.” The CM said conspiracies of such forces need to be <g data-gr-id="42">foiled</g> to take the state ahead on the path of development. He said people of the state have lived together with brotherhood and harmony since ages.
Akhilesh expressed confidence that peace-loving people of the state would not allow forces creating differences to succeed in their designs. “We want to ensure communal harmony, and any attempt against it will be dealt with an iron hand,” Shivpal Yadav said.
When asked why no one from the ruling Samajwadi Party had visited the village, the senior party leader said: “This is to avoid allegations that Samajwadi Party is managing things there.”
He noted that the family members of the victim met the Chief Minister and others in Lucknow and they were given all possible help including Rs 45 lakh, security and assistance in getting their new house.