Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh has begun the process to withdraw 131 cases related to 2013 Muzzaffarnagar and Shamli riots.
The riots, which took place during the regime of Akhilesh Yadav in August-September of 2013, left more than 40,000 homeless. A total of 502 cases were registered in connection with the riots, in which 6,867 people have been accused.
Reacting on the state government's move, Samajwadi Party spokesperon Sunil Singh Sajan said, “The government, which came to power after the riots, is now trying to protect the riot accused as they are associated with these people. The Yogi government is misusing power and washing its own sins.”
Rejecting Opposition's claim, senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, “The cases being taken back are the ones that were politically motivated, and not all the cases are being withdrawn.”
Interestingly, News18 had reported in February, how Hindu-Muslim communities in the region had decided to give up their differences and amicably sort the issues. They had organised Hindu-Muslim panchayats to amicably resolve the issue without any political intervention.
The Hindu-Muslim Mahapanchayat was organised in Bulandshahr district’s Barabasti on February 4 and saw Jat members of Purbaliyan and Muslims of Kutuba village greeting each other with a hug and ended with chants of ‘Har Har Mahadev!’ (Hail Lord Shiva) by Muslims and ‘Allah-O-Akbar!’ (Allah is great) by Jats.
Unanimously, it was decided to take back 20 cases against each other and members of both the communities. Around 12 people died from these villages in the communal clashes of 2013.
According to reports, the panchayat had also raised many eyebrows ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as some political leaders felt that the improving ties between the two communities would not let them earn “brownie points”.
Former Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan met UP CM Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow, along with BJP MLA Sangeet Som, farmer leader Naresh Tikait and a few others to solve the issues related to the riots.
The leaders demanded that most of the cases of arson filed against the Jats should be quashed. They claimed that of the 502 cases, around 400 were of arson and were mostly bogus just to get the compensation. The Yogi government had then promised to look into the matter.
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