Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav targetted his rivals saying that those trying to fan communalism in Uttar Pradesh will never be successful in their attempts.
Talking to reporters on Friday, Mulayam said, “The Samajwadi Party always had to fight against forces trying to divide the people. Now we are keeping a close watch on these people and are alert. Yadav’s comment comes against the backdrop of his son Akhilesh Yadav Government imposing a ban on the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) ‘Sankalp Diwas’ in Ayodhya on Friday.
The Samajwadi Party Government has drawn sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party over this decision. Condemning the ban, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar on Thursday said the Uttar Pradesh Government has taken such a step keeping vote-bank politics in mind.
Undeterred by the ban, the VHP has said that it will go ahead with its proposed ‘Sankalp Diwas’ to take a resolve for launching an agitation for rebuilding the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
VHP spokesperson Prakash Sharma on Friday criticised the State Government for thwarting the ‘Sankalp Diwas’ yatra. “The programme will be held as scheduled. The Government has tried several times earlier to exercise its power. If it wants to do the same at this time, it can. The Government should be asked as to why they have stopped this,” he said.
Sharma added that the VHP has never encouraged any kind of communal feud. “Do Hindus have no right to hold their cultural ralliesIJ” he asked. Heavy security arrangements are in place in the temple city. Security has been also tightened along Uttar Pradesh’s borders with Bihar and Jharkhand and even Madhya Pradesh.
The State Government has held more than 1,500 VHP activists and stopped them from reaching Ayodhya for the ‘Sankalp Diwas’ programme on Friday. The Samajwadi Party Government has banned VHP’s ‘Sankalp Diwas’ fearing a communal flare-up. The decision has been taken, according to reports, in view of security concerns, especially after the recent communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar and the surrounding areas.