File Picture Courtesy : India TV
In an embarrassment for the Uttar Pradesh government headed by CM Yogi Adityanath , Governor Ram Naik has termed the Kasganj communal clashes as a “blot” on the state and asked the state authorities to initiate measures to ensure such incidents did not recur.
According to various media reports , while describing the clashes as “shameful”, Naik observed that this was for the first time in the last 9-10 months that such an incident occurred in the state.
Under fire over the violence, the UP government went into damage control mode and shunted out Kasganj superintendent of police Sunil Kumar Singh to “a less significant post”, according to officials.
Piyush Srivastava was appointed the new Kasganj SP, officials said. Singh was sent to Police Training School, Meerut, in the same rank, they said.
The state authorities also presented a cheque of Rs 20 lakh to family members of Chandan Gupta, who was killed in the violence.
Meanwhile , the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has sought a report from the Uttar Pradesh government in connection with violence which has erupted in state’s Kasganj district.
“Whenever any such incident takes place in any part of the country, the Home Ministry asks for the report,” the Home Minister said.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked the state government that what were the reasons for the spread of this violence and why it could not be stopped during the time.
The clash broke out after an unauthorised bike rally was taken out by RSS-affiliated students’ group Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in the city to commemorate the Republic Day.
The opposition BSP and SP have targeted the state government on the law and order front.
In a statement, BSP chief Mayawati claimed that in the entire country and especially in BJP-ruled UP, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, development and public welfare activities had taken a backseat while a poor law and order situation prevailed.
She alleged that there had been criminalisation of the ruling BJP at every level.
“In UP, there’s no rule of Constitution, but a jungle raj-like atmosphere is prevailing. The latest example is that of Kasganj. Tension is still prevailing and the state government seems to be failing here,” Mayawati said.
She said the BSP condemned the violence and demanded that stringent punishment for the guilty.
Samajwadi Party spokesperson Sunil Singh Sajan alleged, “The government is staging riots in Kasganj. We do not want the resignation of the chief minister. We simply want peace and normalcy to return to the place which is synonymous with the Ganga-Jamuni culture of the state”.
He alleged that for the past three days volunteers of the RSS, the Vishva Hindu Parishad and the ABVP were threatening people and an atmosphere of fear prevailed. “The government is quiet. The police is helpless,” he claimed.
