Akhilesh Yadav's panel blames BJP for Saharanpur riots

The Uttar Pradesh government appointed committee, which probed the last month's Saharanpur riots, has solely blamed the BJP for the communal violence. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had formed the five-member panel headed by PWD Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav. Other members of the committee are state ministers Shivakant Ojha and Arvind Singh Gope and SP leaders Ashu Malik and Haji Ikram Qureshi.

"We have submitted the report to the chief minister. The situation was in control till 11 am on July 26, but later local BJP MP Raghav Lakhanpal and his sup-porters roamed on the streets and instigated the people. The state government will take action against the culprits," Shivpal told reporters on Sunday.

The report also pulled up the local administration for failing to control the riots at its initial stage. Three persons were killed while more than three dozen others injured when two com-munities clashed for several hours over a land dispute in Saharanpur. The rioters had also set on blaze more than 100 shops in incendiary attacks.

"There is no doubt in our mind that the BJP is trying to vitiate the atmosphere in Uttar Pradesh. The right-wing leaders are active because bypolls are due in 12 Assembly constituencies of the state," Samajwadi Party spokesperson Ram Gopal Yadav said. "Laxmi Kant Bajpai, the BJP state president, reaches wherever there is a minor problem and then the situation starts worsening. We have evidence to prove the charges."

Panel's findings

Refuting the charges, Bajpai claimed that the panel's report clearly reflects the ruling party's minority appeasement policy. The state BJP president asserted that the Saharanpur rioters had no links with his party.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh refused to comment on the panel's findings. "I have not yet read it. But we need to understand that it is a report of their (SP leaders) party. Obvi-ously, we know well what would be its content," he said.

Saharanpur MP Raghav Lakhanpal called it a conspiracy theory of the ruling government. "I was not in Saharanpur when the communal violence started on July 25 night. I reached the city the following day and found Saharanpur burning. I informed the Union Home Minister about it", he said. "Those who have been probing the case are none other than the rioters. The state government has already held Moharram Ali, Congress leader Imran Masood and SP MLC Umar Ali Khan responsible," Raghav added.

BSP chief Mayawati, meanwhile, said that the report was made in the interest of the BJP and the Samajwadi Party. "Any split in the Hindu and Muslim votes will benefit these two parties. So, they keep on playing this game in the state. The fact was that the Saharanpur riots were planned by the SP and the BJP together. Now the SP is blaming the BJP because it suits both of them," she claimed. Political observers have also questioned the panel's findings, saying that the CM has not shown any interest in taking action against the Saharanpur MP. Instead, the police have arrested main accused Moharram Ali alias Pappu, a former municipal councillor of the Congress party, who reportedly met Akhilesh with a delegation from Saharanpur in April, they said.