Mulayam accuses BJP of fuelling communal tensions

Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday accused the Bhartiya Jananta Party (BJP) of fuelling communal tension in the state, as he downplayed recent incidents of violence claiming that they were inter-community disputes and not riots.

“They are responsible or are behind these communal riots... They had created these communal riots,” he said, referring to the treasury benches, while participating in a discussion on communal violence. His comment triggered strong protest from BJP and its allies.

Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai pleaded House members not to “shout” in the middle of a speech and appealed to them that if they had any objections they should be raised later.

“Muzaffarnagar was not a communal riot. It was a dispute between two communities. It was a struggle between a caste and a community and people were murdered. Same thing happened in Saharanpur. There was a dispute over a land regarding whether a gurudwara and mosque was to be built. It was a dispute between two communities and people were killed,” he said.

He said within two days the situation was brought under control and no other state had achieved peace post riots at such short notice.

Last month violent clashes broke out between two communities over a land dispute in Saharanpur. Violence erupted last year in Muzaffarnagar post killing of three youths.

“Communalism is dangerous for the country. On small matters communal flares blow up... We have been victims of communalism,” Yadav said.