BJP now claims exodus from Deoband

Seeking to blunt the Opposition attack, Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan on Monday said the Kairana incident should be seen as a “law and order” issue as even Muslims had migrated to safer places.

Balyan, who is a Jat leader from western Uttar Pradesh, also said the BJP has distanced itself from the aggressive campaign launched by MLA Sangeet Som and had given a 15-day ultimatum to the state government to ensure the return of all Hindu families who have fled from Kairana.

“Muslim families have also fled from Kairana, it is not only Hindus,” he said when asked to comment on the Kairana migrations. Balyan said a team of BJP leaders who had visited the region too had corroborated this fact.

“It is a law and order issue and not a communal one,” he said adding that the region has a history of lawlessness and the state government had failed to address the issue.
Hukum Singh, BJP MP from Kairana, had triggered a controversy by claiming that a large number of Hindu families had fled Kairana under duress.

Last week, Uttar Pradesh BJP President Keshav Prasad Maurya had met Governor Ram Naik with the demand for a CBI probe into the “exodus”.