Tension and fear gripped the entire Moradabad region and its residents on Saturday with the leaders of BJP and Congress marching towards Kanth area defying prohibitory orders. The area was turned into fortress. A huge police force was deployed to thwart any attempt to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere of the town. This is the second time within a month that uneasy calm engulfed the area.
Six MPs and four MlAs from adjoining constituencies were detained at Hapur, Ghaziabad, Rampur and Moradabad with several leaders of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). They were demanding that registration of FIR against SSP Moradabad and other senior officials for acting on the behest of the ruling party.
Meanwhile, laxmikant Bajpai, BJP president of the State unit, sat on dharna along with other leaders before the District Commissioner Office in Moradabad. On the other hand, UP Police also detained senior Congress leaders — Madhusudan Mistry, actress Nagma and Rita Bahuguna Joshi — along with hundreds of party workers at Delhi-Ghaziabad border while they were heading towards Moradabad.
As announced earlier, senior BJP and VHP leaders tried to enter Kanth town early morning to protest against the district officials for victimising its cadres. However, the administration had imposed Section 144 as a preventive measure.
Angry over police action, the leaders sat on dharna at the camp office of the District Magistrate in Moradabad city. They were demanding FIR against SSP and his subordinates for initiating penal action against BJP leaders earlier. “We are not fighting for the loudspeaker issue because that has already gone to the High Court. We are fighting for the self-respect of our party MlAs, the way they were treated. We want an FIR to be lodged against SSP Dharamvir Singh Yadav, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Anil Kumar, Circle Officer (CO) of Kanth, Rahul, and their co-officials,” said Bajpai.
Rampur MP Nepal Singh, Moradabad MP Kunwar Sarvesh Kumar Singh and Sambhal MP Satyapal Singh Saini were stopped for awhile at Hapur. Aonla MP Dharmendra Kashyap was detained in Rampur. BJP leader Ajay Agrawal was detained at Ghaziabad. Nepal Singh was detained by police in Hapur while going towards Moradabad to join the movement. Meanwhile, BJP MlA Noorpur, lokendra, and MlA Shamli, Suresh Rana, reached Kanth police station where their FIR was received. “Police is hunting down BJP MlAs in the western part of the State like they are criminals,” says a BJP MlA Sangeet Som, who was also stopped from going to Kanth.
In the mean time, Congress leaders Madhusudan Mistry, Nagma, Nirmal Khatri and Naseeb Pathan along with 500 party workers were detained by Ghaziabad Police when they were on their way to hold a “peace march” in Kanth. The leaders were detained at UP Gate early morning when they were on their way to Moradabad from the national Capital. Congress leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi along with 20 party supporters was also taken into preventive custody outside the party office in the district. They all were sent to district police lines. “We have detained hundreds of leaders. We have deployed police force as we will not allow any one to pass from the district towards Kanth,” said Shiv Hari Meena, Superintendent of Police (City) of Ghaziabad.
Hitting out at the BJP, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi called for an end to the “politics of hatred” in the country as communal tension flared up in Uttar Pradesh while his party accused BJP of carrying out “pre-planned” communal polarisation. “I am deeply saddened to hear of clashes in Saharanpur. Violence, divisiveness and hatred have no place in our country. This politics of hatred must end. I appeal to every one to remain calm and refrain from fanning communal passions,” Gandhi said in a statement in Capital.
As the trouble started after removing a loudspeaker from a temple in Kanth town, a mahapanchayat (public meet) was called in Kanth on July 3. A stir was created when police took penal action against BJP leaders who had gone to participate in the meet. Since then the BJP is protesting against police slamming it as a one-sided, biased approach. The VHP has demanded re-installation of loudspeakers and wants to perform puja at the temple. The VHP leaders had also announced ‘jalabhishek’ at the temple on Saturday following which Sadhvi Prachi was detained on Friday and Section 144 was imposed in the area. “We have taken adequate measures to restore peace in the region. Apart from district police, more than 2,400 policemen from neighbouring districts and 10 companies of PAC, RAF and RRF have been deployed in the district,” said Dharamvir Singh Yadav, SSP of Moradabad.