Modi rakes up Kanwar Yatra, Muzaffarnagar riots in first physical UP rally, says rivals instigating Muslim women

Amid voting for the first phase of polling on 58 assembly seats in the western UP region, prime minister Narendra Modi on Thursday raked up the 2013 Muzaffarnagar communal riots and alleged ban on 'Kanwar Yatras' during the Samajwadi Party (SP) regime and said that during the tenure of the BJP government in the state no incident of communal violence had taken place.

In his first physical rally at Saharanpur, Modi also made a veiled reference to the ongoing controversy over wearing 'hijab' by the Muslim girls in schools in Karnataka and accused the rival parties of 'instigating' the Muslim girls so that they lagged behind others.

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''Earlier the state used to witness a series of communal riots....no one can forget the Muzaffarnagar riots, exodus in Kairana....curfew was a recurring feature and people could not even celebrate their festivals...we started the kanwar yatra.....no one has the power now to stop it,'' the prime minister said.

Uttar Pradesh Assembly Polls Result 2017

In an apparent bid to woo the Muslim women, Modi referred, albeit in a veiled manner, the ongoing 'hijab' controversy in Karnataka and said that the opposition parties were trying to 'instigate' the Muslim women.

''They (opposition) do want that our Muslim sisters and daughters progress....they want them to lag behind the others but we are solidly behind every Muslim woman, who has suffered,'' he said.

Modi said that it was necessary for Yogi Adityanath to become the chief minister of the state again to ensure that the Muslim women got their rights and were not made to suffer. He was apparently referring to the victims of the triple talaq.

He also took potshots at the SP saying that had the party (SP) been in power during the pandemic then the vaccines would have been sold in the market.

Modi also listed the achievements of the central and the BJP government in the state during its tenure and said that the state had taken rapid strides on the path of development under the 'double engine' government.

The prime minister's reference to Muzaffarnagar riots came amid the polling in the 'Jat' dominated western region of the state and was apparently intended to send a message to the jats, who appeared to be angry with the saffron party.

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