BJP slams Azam over letter to UN on communal incidents

Lucknow: The BJP on Monday lashed out at Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan for writing to the UN on "communal incidents" in the state.

Bharatiya Janata Party's state spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak told reporters in the state capital that it would have been "prudent" that the minister first spoke on the issue to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav before taking it to international fora.

"Azam Khan is only interested in gaining political brownie points out of an unfortunate incident," Pathak said.

He said maintenance of law and order was a state subject and that Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his Samajwadi Party should explain why such an incident took place.

There have been many incidents in the state which would not have spiralled into big issues if the administration had intervened at the right time, the BJP leader said.

He said prohibitory orders were being violated in Dadri village where a mob lynched a Muslim man over rumours of eating beef.

The BJP spokesman said that in Muzaffaranagar in 2013, police had failed to act on time, and when they acted the action was biased, which led to violence that left 63 people dead and thousands displaced.

"This government continues to be in denial mode and is now trying to master the art of diversion. Sadly, the people of the state are not seeing through their political games," he said.

Earlier, Urban Development Minister Azam Khan had released a letter he wrote to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon seeking time for audience so that he can petition the UN with regard to the rise in communal unrest in the country, mostly after the Narendra Modi government took over.

He alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) planned to convert India into a Hindu country and had let loose volunteers to take on the Muslim population.

Khan also slammed Modi for not speaking on the Dadri lynching.