BJP can cause riots during Tiranga Yatra: Akhilesh Yadav

The campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi aims at evoking a feeling of patriotism by exhorting people across the country to hoist the national flag between August 13 and 15 when the country completes 75 years of its independence.

Yadav remembered the incident that took place on Republic Day in Kasganj in 2018 during a Tiranga bike rally conducted by ABVP and VHP activists. Spme activists on bikes entered a Muslim- dominated locality where residents were preparing to hoist the national flag and arranging chairs for the same. The residents reportedly requested the activists to take a different route. Clashes took place when the activists refused to do so and one student- Chandan Gupta- was killed after being hit by a bullet, leading to days of violence and arson in the district. The opposition had claimed that the incident was ‘pre-planned’ and took place under police protection.

“People of BJP rule only by dividing. About this programme of unfurling the tiranga, I want to caution that the BJP can also cause danga while hoisting the flag. Along with the Tiranga Yatra, the party can cause such incidents in society which can cause rifts. You would remember in Kasganj, how in the name of Tiranga Yatra, people of BJP caused Hindu- Muslim riots,” Yadav told reporters while speaking on the birth anniversary of socialist leader Janeshwar Mishra. Yadav’s statement follows BJP’s appeals to opposition parties not to ‘ politicise’ the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign. Yadav has also lent his support to the campaign, asking people to hoist the flag between August 9 and 15.

“To link the tricolour with riots is unfortunate. Akhilesh Yadav should apologise. The Tricolour does not belong to any caste or sect, religion or class but is a matter of pride for the entire country. Akhilesh is associating it with riots only because he cannot forget the riots that took place in every district of the state during his own tenure,” Rakesh Tripathi, spokesperson of BJP in the state, said.