Lucknow: The Rashtriya Lok Dal, which has a strong presence in western UP, will be holding a peace rally on Friday in the riot hit village of Nangla Mandore in Muzaffarnagar. The 2013 riots started after a panchayat was held in this village.
RLD vice-president Jayant Chaudhary wants to ‘bridge communal divide’ in this region by addressing the peace rally on Friday.
Sources said other issues that will be highlighted in the rally are pending dues of sugarcane farmers and increased power tariff. These two are believed to be the core reasons why the BJP lost the by-elections in Kairana.
But why did RLD chose such a sensitive venue for the rally? RLD spokesperson Abhishek Chaudhary said this is an attempt by the Ajit Singh-led outfit to strengthen the spirit of brotherhood and curb communal divide in the area.
"This is the place from where the riots started and RLD will now send across a message of love and peace to the entire country by holding its rally here,” Chaudhary said.
However, local BJP MLA Kapildev Agarwal termed the rally as a mere stunt. “Almost after five years, suddenly they have now realised that there is a need to bridge the gap. This is nothing but a mere stunt,” he said.
The infamous Muzaffarnagar riots took place during August-September of 2013. Around 60 people were killed in the clashes and more than 40,000 people were rendered homeless. A total of 502 cases were registered in connection with the riots, in which 6,867 people were accused.
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