BJP leaders cry conspiracy as UP govt comes under pressure

CHINGRAWATHI (BULANDSHAHR): Two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmakers attempted on Tuesday to draw a link between the Bulandshahr violence and an Islamic congregation held nearby, drawing flak from Opposition parties that blamed the ruling party of fanning communal passions before the 2019 general elections.

Union minister Uma Bharti called the violence, which left two people dead, “both worrying and serious.”

“The administration should have been alert to the fact that a huge crowd had gathered there for “Ijtema” and they should have found out from where the carcasses of cows, which were found dumped outside the village, came from,” she said in Madhya Pradesh, referring to the Tablighi Ijtema, a three-day Islamic congregation that concluded on Monday.

Reports of alleged cow slaughter from Mahaw village, near Bulandshahr, on Sunday night had triggered the violent clashes a day later.

“The state government should look into all the aspects of this case,” she tweeted later.

Bulandshahr member of parliament (MP) Bhola Singh also said it was a matter of concern why a large number of alleged cow slaughter incidents were reported at a time when the Tablighi Ijtema was on.

He also alleged that the organisers of the congregation kept officials in the dark about the number of people in attendance.