Post-poll clashes in Uttar Pradesh, posters ask Muslims to leave

Post-poll violence is being reported from across Uttar Pradesh days after the Bharatiya Janata Party won a landslide victory in the assembly election.

• Posters have reportedly appeared in a village in Bareilly asking Muslims to leave the village
• Houses of Dalits have been set on fire in Ballia, where BSP and BJP supporters have clashed
• Clashes between Samajwadi Party and BJP supporters reported from Gonda and Fatehpur as well
• Motorcycle of a Samajwadi Party Gram Pradhan set on fire in Gonda, where SP and BJP supporters clashed, hurled bombs and used firearms
• Tension reported from Baghpat following the murder of a Muslim

Bhaskar.com posted a picture of the poster that allegedly surfaced at Jainagla village in Bareilly district.

The poster starts with the slogan ‘Jai Sri Ram’ and goes on to serve an ultimatum that reads: "Every Muslim is hereby asked to leave the village by December 30. If you fail to leave we will do (in village) what Trump is doing in America. Kyonki Bhajpa sarkar bananey jaa rahi hai (Because BJP is going to form government).”

Six odd posters allegedly from ‘Gaon ke Hindu’( Hindus of the village) were first detected on Tuesday. Police immediately swung into action and removed the posters and held a meeting of senior villagers of both the communities asking them to maintain peace.

Yamuna Prasad, a senior police official in Bareilly said that a few persons who run internet cafe have been questioned. “These are printed posters and would in all probability been printed somewhere around this place,” he said adding that a police picket has been set up in the village and elders have been asked to maintain a vigil against such elements.

Meanwhile, BJP state general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak said that he did not have any information about the posters but the police should take action against people who are spreading hatred in the society. "BJP does not believe in discrimination. We believe in 'sabka saath, sabka vikas’," he maintained.

The BJP ironically had campaigned against lawlessness in UP under the Samajwadi Party regime with the party’s national president Amit Shah describing UP as the state where the highest number of rapes was recorded (he was factually wrong since the dubious honour is claimed by Madhya Pradesh, in fact).

Euphoric BJP supporters and newly elected BJP MLAs are reported to be strutting around celebrating the victory and at least one of them is reported to have called up the Circle Officer of Hardoi and warned him saying, “Do you not know the government has changed, BJP is in power now. Apna dimag sahi kar lo”.

The promise of the Bharatiya Janta Party leaders of ending SP's ‘Gunda Raj’ already appears frayed. The nephew of a newly-elected BJP MLA from Puawayan (Shahjehanpur) assaulted a woman sub-inspector and threatened her with dire consequences after she pulled him up and demanded to see his vehicle’s Registration Certificate and driving license. The nephew wondered aloud at the temerity of the cops 'daring' to check his papers even after BJP swept to power in the state.

In Bahedi locality of Bareilly, supporters of BJP MLA Chandra Pal, first clashed with BSP supporters and later looted mobile phones from Faridpur Adda area after which local cops took the trouble makers to the police station on Sunday evening. Minutes later, BJP supporters ransacked the police station and got their colleagues released.

In Mirzapur too, Ish Patel, the nephew of newly elected BJP MLA from Madhiyaon segment Ramashanker Patel and his cronies reportedly barged inside the house of a rival from the minority community on Sunday night. Later the mob reportedly attacked female members and ransacked the house threatening them with dire consequences.

Similar reports have come from Lakhimpur Kheri and Firozabad, where newly elected MLA and their cronies have threatened cops to submit to their diktats or get ready to face the music now that “BJP is in power”.

With inputs from Vishwa Deepak.