BJP MLA Sangeet Som suspends march to Kairana, gives ultimatum to Samajwadi Party govt

Sangeet Som gave an ultimatum of 15 days to the UP government to bring back families who have migrated from Kairana.

Meerut: Despite local administration denying permission to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Sangeet Som to hold 'Paidal Nirbhay Yatra' across western Uttar Pradesh, the MLA from Sardhana on Friday went ahead with his march in his hometown.

However, after walking along with hundreds of his supporters for 1 km, Som was stopped by the police citing Section 144 that has been imposed in the area, forcing the fireband BJP leader to suspended his march.

Speaking to the media, Som, an accused in 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots said, he is a loyal BJP worker and no one from the party would break the law.

He confirmed that UP BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya had called him and asked him not to take law into his hands.

The BJP MLA expressed displeasure for not being able to visit Kairana village, which is in the news, after party MP Hukum Singh had claimed that Hindu families were leaving in large numbers from Muslim-majority Kairana town in Shamli district under duress.

However, on Tuesday, he retracted from his earlier stand and said it was not a communal issue but one of law and order. He released another list of 63 persons who had fled from neighbouring Kandhala.

Som warned the authorities to take necessary steps to prevent people migrating from Kairana and ensure security to the locals.

“We are giving an ultimatum of 15 days to the state government to bring back families who have migrated. If the administration fails to do so, nobody will be able to stop the BJP workers from visiting Kairana or any other place to ensure security to the people,” Som exhorted.

Som sought to send an assurance to the people of Kairana saying, he was bound to follow the laws of the country, and expressed unhappiness over not being able to visit the area.

Earlier today, Som said he will not let UP become Kashmir. Speaking to the News18, the BJP MLA from Sardhana, assured of fighting for the rights of people of Uttar Pradesh. “If people are migrating from Kairana, we will make all efforts to bring them back,” Som said.

With the yatrA, the BJP leader wanted to instill confidence in people, who are staying in fear due to the “communal atmosphere being created” by some political parties.

Som said, he has decided the week-long 'Paidal Nirbhay Yatra' “to make people feel safe”. He further assured that his party is with the people of UP and won’t let any untoward incident.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party leader Atul Pradhan has also announced to hold 'Sadbhavana Yatra', which would also begin from Meerut and culminate at Kairana.

However, the district administration has refused to give permission to hold the yatra.

A delegation of leaders of five parties that visited Kairana yesterday hit out at BJP for giving a "communal" angle to the migration of families even as the ruling party took a swipe at JD(U) and RJD, which were part of the group, for "vitiating" the atmosphere after "failing" to run Bihar.

The eight-member BJP delegation which went to review the situation in controversial Kairana village on Wednesday targeted the Uttar Pradesh government over the deteriorating law and order condition and said that apart the 346 families who have already migrated from the village, many more are willing to do the same.