MUZAFFARNAGAR: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday took a swipe at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, saying he does not have “shame” while talking “lies” about the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh where the BJP government has chased away criminals and mafias who flourished during the earlier regime.
He also scoffed at Yadav and RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary’s display of togetherness and said leaders of these parties will be seen together only till election. He said in the event of government formation, people like Azam Khan and Atiq Ahmad will take centre stage and Chaudhary will not be seen anywhere.
Seeking support for the saffron party in western Uttar Pradesh, Shah invoked eminent Jat leader late prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh and farmers’ leader Mahendra Singh Tikait, and asked if anyone can forget the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots during which “victims were made accused”.
The home minister also reeled out comparative crime figures under the present Yogi Adityanath-led state government and the one headed by Yadav before him, and dared the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief to come out with the statistics of his governance.
Addressing the ‘matdaataas’ (voters) here, Shah referred to the Muzaffarnagar riots during the Samajwadi Party rule. Alleging that police acted with vote bank in mind during the riots, he said, “The victims were made accused and accused the victims, and thousands of fake cases were lodged. I congratulate the BJP which acted under party leader Sanjeev Baliyan and fought the ‘nyay ki ladai’ (fight for justice) either in courts or on the roads.”
“I want to ask the people of Muzaffarnagar and of western Uttar Pradesh if they have forgotten the riots? If the same mistake is done, then those who instigated the riots will sit on the seat of power in Lucknow, but if ‘lotus’ (BJP party symbol) is elected, there will be no riots,” he said, giving the target of winning over 300 seats in the northern state.
Muzaffarnagar had witnessed communal violence in 2013, killing over 60 people and displacing 40,000 people. Uttar Pradesh will go to polls in seven phases beginning February 10.
—PTI

Press Trust of India