Two communities in Muzaffarnagar have agreed to call off their proposed meetings (mahapanchayats) scheduled on Wednesday and Thursday respectively after the district administration stepped in.
The representatives of Jat and Muslim communities said that the decision was taken considering the festival season and to maintain peace in the area. Meanwhile, a large turnout was recorded in the city area on Govardhan Puja on Monday night after a subdued Diwali celebration.
A senior official of the district administration said they were in constant touch with several local leaders and also requested leaders of both communities to reconsider their decision on mahapanchayat. “They (Jats and Muslims) were urged to cancel their proposed mahapanchayat to facilitate administration for maintaining peace, law and order in the district. We also clarified that if any untoward incident takes place before or after the meetings, strong action will be taken against the community leaders and organisers,” he said.
The official added as the condition of the region is already tense these days following the fresh violence, any such move to gather people in mass number may create panic and again result into communal flare-up. “Though we have imposed Section 144 across the district but we do not want to take any sort of risk during festival seasons,” said a senior administrative official.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) has given a call for mahapanchayat on November 6 in Sisauli village under jurisdiction of Budhana police station in which people of both Hindu and Muslim communities were asked to attend. “As the farmers of both sides have been suffering due to the crisis, we had called the leaders to sort out this problem but due to immense pressure and festivals we have decided to postpone the scheduled convention. The new date is likely to be announced by the end of this week,” said Rakesh Tikait, general secretary of BKU.
Meanwhile, the Muslim leaders have also decided to cancel their mahapanchayat, which was to be held in Shafipur-Patti village under jurisdiction of Shahpur police station on November 7. “We have informed people about cancellation of mahapanchayat and have decided to finalise next date once after festivals will over. We have also asked authorities to take proper care of refugees and victims living in 17 relief camps across the district otherwise we will have to call mahapanchayat to address this issue,” said Akhlaq Ahmed, a representative of Muslim community living in Shahpur.
Alok Pridarshi, Superintendent of Police (Rural) of Muzaffarnagar, said that any such move (holding mahapanchayat) to mobilise people will certainly affect peace of the region and the police will not allow any move.
“There are some anti-social elements active in the region trying to communalise the area. They may take advantage of public gathering which will resulted in communal tension again,” said the SP.
Meanwhile, a large crowd appeared in Gaushala area and other parts of Muzaffarnagar city on Monday night and Tuesday when the worshipers participated in Govardhan Puja. After subdued Diwali, large footfall has brought a ray of hope among the residents who had restricted themselves inside their houses for long.
“The people are fed up with regular incidents these days and the crowd during the puja will help in restoring peace and bringing back normalcy in the region,” said Birendra Singh, a resident of Gaushala road.