Accusing the Samajwadi Party government of failing miserably to control the communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said that the charges made against his party leaders in connection with the violence were politically motivated.
Dismissing allegations that the BJP was trying to whip up communal passions, he said the people of Uttar Pradesh knew who was responsible for the violence. “The UP government is playing vote bank politics and we have demanded its dismissal. Everybody should now work to restore normality in view of the tense situation in the State,” he told a press conference here.
Mr. Naidu, who was in the city to discuss with party functionaries the arrangements being made for the ‘Ilanthamarai’ conference to be held here on September 26, said the party’s focus right now was on expanding its support base.
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Responding to a question on the possibility of the BJP forming an alliance with the AIADMK or DMDK in Tamil Nadu, he said the party was not thinking of alliances right now. “We are focussing on expanding our base. There could be political realignments before or after elections.”
The BJP favoured the Lok Sabha elections to be held in December when Assembly elections were scheduled in five States.
Blaming the “policy paralysis” of the Congress-led UPA government for the country’s economic downturn, Mr. Naidu said the people were worried about their own and country’s future. “There is a groundswell of anger among all sections of people.”
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