BJP using Kairana canard to divide people: UP CM Akhilesh Yadav

MATHURA: Accusing the BJP of spreading canards about migration of Hindu families from Kairana in Shamli district, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday said the list of names released by the BJP MP Hukum Singh refers to those who had left the town five to 15 years ago, when Samajwadi Party was not in power in the state.

Saying that independent inquiry by the media as well as the district administration clearly proves that most of the people who left Kairana had done so in order to find better opportunities for themselves, Akhilesh accused the BJP of attempting to "communalise" the state's atmosphere ahead of the assembly polls in 2017. "They have no positive agenda and are spreading lies, from Jawahar Bagh to Kairana," he alleged. Maintaining that his government had taken "all possible steps" to ensure security of all communities in the state, the chief minister said migration for better earning and living opportunities is common in all states and if some families had shifted out of Kairana in the past, it had nothing to do with communal tensions. "BJP is lying when they say that these families were forced to migrate from Kairana due to persecution or communal reasons," he added.