Impose President rule if UP can’t check violence: Rajnath

BJP Chief Rajnath Singh on Thursday sought the Centre’s intervention on Muzaffarnagar violence issue and said if Uttar Pradesh government fails to control such incidents, President’s rule should be imposed there.

He termed the communal violence as “unfortunate” and said timely action by the U.P. government could have averted it.

Attacking the SP government, Mr. Singh said this was not the first incident of communal violence in the state in the Samajwadi Party regime and 50 such incidents having taken place.

“I have said earlier also that Centre should intervene and even then if the state government fails to fall in line, President’s Rule should be imposed in Uttar Pradesh,” he told reporters.

“There should be a probe into the matter and those found responsible for the violence should be punished,” he said, adding the affected people should be compensated adequately.

Mr. Singh also attacked the Congress-led UPA at the Centre and the Sheila Dikshit government in Delhi for not keeping their promises and said due to their wrong policies people are forced to bear the brunt of inflation.

Targeting Congress, he said, politicians have made several promises during elections but have failed to fulfil them after coming into power.

“If they would have fulfilled even one per cent (of the promises), then the country would have been self sufficient and there would have been no income disparity, inflation...,” he said while addressing a gathering.

Mr. Singh also took a dig at Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde over his statement on Mr. Modi that “ Koi bhi Ramu, Shamu aur Damu ka nam le sakte hain (Anyone can name any Tom, Dick or Harry for the PM’s post). But we (Congress) have already declared that Rahul Gandhi is our leader”.

“I am not aware of his intentions but it (Congress) is the only party in which a minister says he acknowledges somebody else as Prime Minister, instead of the person who had made him the Minister,” the BJP chief said.

Mr. Singh was speaking after inaugurating two community halls at Dwarka Sector 12 and Sector 23, constructed by South Delhi Municipal Corporation at a cost of approximately Rs 4.75 crore each.