"Their sole concern is to strengthen their vote bank": UP Minister Jaiveer Singh hits out at Samajwadi Party

After the Samajwadi Party delegation was stopped from visiting Bareilly following September 26 protests, Uttar Pradesh Minister Jaiveer Singh on Saturday launched attacks on the political party, saying that their sole concern is to strengthen their vote bank and they have "nothing" to do with the country and society. Speaking to ANI, Singh said, "We believe the Samajwadi Party has nothing to do with the state, the country, or society, nor does it have any commitment or concern for social harmony. Their sole concern is strengthening their vote bank, securing and protecting it through radicalism, and keeping Muslim voters firmly aligned. That's why they're doing all this."

Meanwhile, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari targeted the BJP governments, accusing them of "communalising and polarising" every issue. The Congress MP said, "The central and UP governments are making every effort to communalise and polarise every issue. They have nothing left to tell the public. However, if the Leader of the Opposition, Mata Prasad Pandey, or the MP in Bareilly wanted to appeal for peace, they should have been allowed to go... Peace should be maintained there..."

Earlier today, Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Mata Prasad Pandey said that the Samajawadi Party-led delegation was "stopped" from going to Bareilly, where protests over "I Love Mohammad" posters on September 26 turned violent. Authorities also deployed police personnel outside the residence of Mata Prasad Pandey.

The SP leader told ANI, "We're being stopped from going... This was not a communal riot... They (Police) themselves have ruined the law and order situation... They've become partisans." He further said, "If two communities had clashed, I would have assumed a serious incident had occurred... When we asked the police, they weren't giving any clear answers. Locals reported that widespread injustice followed the incident. One person is charged, and four are being arrested... That community is terrified... They're terrified of the administration and the police. They have no quarrel with the other community."

Samajwadi Party (SP) leader was scheduled to lead a party delegation to Bareilly, where recent incidents have triggered tension and raised law and order concerns over the September 26 violence. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) National General Secretary Nafees Khan and his son Farman Khan in connection with the September 26 protests in Bareilly, taking the total arrests in the case to 81. According to the police, Farman used to handle the Facebook page of IMC.

Earlier today, the Bareilly Development Authority (BDA) carried out a bulldozer action on the property of Dr Nafees following his arrest in connection with the 'I Love Muhammad' protests outside Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) chief Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan's house on September 26. (ANI)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)