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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday alleged "political conspiracy" behind the riots in Muzaffarnagar to destabilise his government while rival BSP blamed ruling SP for the violence, escalating the political blame game over the communal strife.
"The violence is a political conspiracy to defame and destablise my government, which is doing a good job for poor, youths, muslims and all sections of the society", Yadav said, as BJP and RLD demanded imposition of President's rule in UP.
"Political parties are trying to find ways to attack the government, they had done this earlier also. Earlier, in Shamli they tried to vitiate atmosphere of the state but it was thwarted", said Yadav, who is under attack over the violence. He was talking to reporters in Lucknow at a function to see off Haj pilgrims leaving for Mecca.
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BSP chief Mayawati and RLD leader Ajit Singh blamed Samajwadi Party(SP) and BJP for the violence in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas of UP saying the two were advancing their political interests by polarising voters. They demanded imposition of central rule.
"One can see the hands of BJP and SP behind this. Lok Sabha polls are near and both the parties want to give a communal colour to the polls...It is their political gameplan," Mayawati said in New Delhi.
Union Minister and RLD supremo Ajit Singh, who was detained in Ghaziabad while entering the riot-hit areas today, said BJP wants polarisation of votes, and "so does SP".
"Both think they will gain...Why did BJP send (Amit) Shah to UP - first to Ayodhya and then Mathura," questioned Singh whose party is a UPA ally.
Mayawati said both the parties are hand-in-glove to further their political interests ahead of 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
"They wanted to disturb the communal fabric of not only the state but the entire country under the garb of (VHP's) 84 kosi yatra. But people have seen through their political gameplan which stands exposed," the BSP supremo said.
"The present state government has acted very late. It has allowed communal tensions to simmer for 10 days and I can say that they are presiding over jungle raaj in the state," Mayawati said.
Singh said since the Akhilesh government has little to show in terms of development during its rule, it is using the communal divide to get votes in the general elections.
"It is because Samajwadi Party fears the voters' ire against the government's non-performance that they have resorted to communalising the region," he said.
Both claimed that since the SP came to power in UP, the state has witnessed 100 cases of communal riots.
BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was also detained at Ghaziabad, said if proper, strong action had been taken at the appropriate time it would not have led to the current situation in Muzaffarnagar.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh was on Monday struggling to contain communal violence as the death toll in Muzaffarnagar and other areas rose to 31, with authorities arresting 200 rioters and stopping Union Minister Ajit Singh and BJP MPs including Ravi Shankar Prasad from visiting the troubled district.
"The death toll in the violence in Muzaffarnagar and other areas has climbed to 31," Principal Secretary Home R M Srivastava said even as curfew remained in force in riot-hit areas and army staged flag march for the second consecutive day.
Violence spread to neighbouring district of Shamli where a 40-year-old Imam of a mosque, Maulana Umar Din, was shot dead, Shamli District Magistrate P K Singh said.
Concerned over the incidents, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke to Akhilesh and assured him of all help from the Centre to deal with the situation.
In the 12-minute long conversation, the Prime Minister also asked the Chief Minister to take control of the situation and ensure that peace returned to the violence-hit areas.
"The telephonic conversation was held on a positive note with both leaders expressing concern on the developments in Muzaffarnagar and speaking of coordination in bringing back normalcy," a senior official said.
Union Home Ministry asked Uttar Pradesh government to send Muzaffarnagar situation report every 12 hours. It also asked the state government to deploy enough forces in rural areas in the district where violence is yet to be contained.
In an overnight crackdown, over 200 people were arrested and 1,000 persons booked, including BJP legislative party leader Hukum Singh, party MLAs Suresh Rana, Bhartendu, Sangeet Som and former Congress MP Harendra Malik for violating prohibitory orders. Under fire over the violence, UP government transferred top police officials, including Saharanpur DIG, SSP Muzaffarnagar and SP Shamli. Violence-hit Muzaffarnagar lies in Saharanpur range.
"We are also cancelling arms licenses in Phugana, Shahpur, Dhaurakalan as they were misused during the violence," ADG, Law and Order, Arun Kumar told reporters in Muzaffarnagar.
UP Governor BL Joshi has sent a report on the Muzaffarnagar violence to the Centre, which, sources said in Lucknow, has details regarding the administrative lapses as well as the situation prevailing there.
Sectarian violence started when some people pelted stones at a bus carrying people to a "mahapanchayat" where elders of two religious groups were meeting to sort out the simmering tension between Jats, a farming community, and Muslims ever since three youth were killed Aug 27 over a case of stalking, allegedly of a Jat Hindu girl by a Muslim youth.
The union government was quick to respond to a report forwarded by Joshi. A senior official said the governor "was of the view that the situation in Muzaffarnagar was grim and required prompt and serious action".
Samajwadi Party leaders admit that they were stumped by the "proactiveness of the governor".
Officials admitted that the governor's promptness in passing off ground report to the centre also spurred the state government to action. This, they added, included transfer of senior officials and dispatching of competent police officers to the violence-hit areas.
The Uttar Pradesh government has begun probing the role of politicians in sectarian violence.
"We are collecting proof of their role in inciting mobs, mobilizing the crowds for the 'mahapanchayat' which later triggered the violence," a home department official said.
The government has also asked the cyber unit of the state police to trace the "provocative and fake" video clips uploaded on YouTube, which apparently aggravated the situation.
SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, for the second day on Monday, was involved in fire-fighting exercise, and is learnt to have spoken to senior Congress ministers in New Delhi on the situation.
The crackdown on politicians, sources say, is also being undertaken at the behest of Mulayam Singh who sees a hand of "some political elements" behind the communal violence.
"We have been saying all through that efforts are being done to vitiate and polarize the state on communal lines and our worst fears are now coming true," a senior UP minister said, admitting the riots had put the state government in the dock.
