Centre seeks report on UP violence

Digvijay Singh comes down heavily on Akhilesh govt

Uttar Pradesh is once again on the boil, triggering panic in the power corridors of New Delhi about the spread of communal fire in the country ahead of the General Elections.

The Union Home Ministry has already sought a report from the state government on the communal clashes in Muzzaffarnagar and is in regular touch with the officials there.

The state has witnessed over 40 incidents of communal clashes since March last year after Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav-led government came into power. In 2012 alone, there were 104 communal riots in the state while 350 such incidents were reported since 2009.

The continuing spate of communal violence has prompted an attack on the chief minister by political opponents. Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh took a potshot at the SP, saying the Akhilesh government’s track record on handling the situation was “bad”.

“(SP) haven't been able to control communal forces in Uttar Pradesh, even the BSP was better," Singh wrote on Twitter. He also attacked the BJP saying non-BJP ruled states need to be "more careful" in the wake of communal violence.

Officials said the Centre has asked the state government to take necessary steps to ensure that communal tension does not spread to other parts of the state. If necessary, steps like preventive arrest and house arrest of those who may create trouble should be taken, the sources said.

The increasing trend of communal clashes in UP is worrying the security establishment as they fear that it would further rise in the run up to the General Elections. The Home Ministry believes there is a concerted effort to create communal polarisation ahead of the polls as such incidents were recently reported from Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir too.

Last week, the Centre had summoned top officials of seven states, including UP, for a meeting during which the perception of the Home Ministry was shared with them.