Sharad Yadav vows not to allow communal riots

Cautioning against communal violence before 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Opposition leader Sharad Yadav on Tuesday called upon youth to ensure that there is no bickering on the religious lines.

Addressing a youth conference organised in New Delhi under the aegis of Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), he accused the BJP of “dividing” people on the communal lines and spreading “religious frenzy” ahead of the polls.

"We are passing through a very difficult time. Take a vow that you will not allow any communal riots to erupt at any cost," he said.

While cautioning against communal flare up, Yadav also made a particular reference to the western region of the Uttar Pradesh which had witnessed communal riots in Muzaffarnagar district about eight months before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

The incident had left several people dead and injured.

Another riot broke out in Kanth village of Moradabad later in June, 2014, over installation of loud speakers at a religious place.

The tension prevailed for over a week accompanied by frequent clashes between the two communities.

“Take a pledge for not allowing any communal riot in Western UP ahead of elections. They (BJP) made false promises to win elections. Ganga became a sewer and Yamuna got rotten. They are indulging in hypocrisy only to fool Hindus,” Yadav said.

Targetting the BJP, he also referred to various incidents of cow vigilantism that took place in different parts of the country since the saffron party came to power at the Centre in 2014 and called upon the youth to ensure that no body is lynched “in the name of cow.”

“The country is today witnessing an undeclared emergency. Democracy will be restored only after the BJP is unseated from power,” he added.

The RLD's day-long youth conference was attended by leaders of various Opposition parties including the Congress' Ahmed Patel, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPIM) Sitaram Yechury, Samajwadi Party's (SP) Ghanshaym Tiwari, Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Sanjay Singh and Patidar leader from Gujarat Hardik Patel.

They appealed to the youth to vote out the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) from power in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls to “save the country," citing rising unemployment, widening social and communal rift as well as curbs on the freedom of speech during the saffron party regime since 2014.