BJP MLA Suresh Rana stirs controversy, says 'Kairana, Deoband will be under curfew if I win UP polls'

Shamli: Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Suresh Rana has stoked a huge controversy by saying, if he wins the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections, curfew will be imposed in Kairana, Deoband and Moradabad.

Rana, an accused in the Muzaffarnagar riots case, made the remarks while addressing an election rally in Shamli`s Thana Bhawan on Sunday.

Later, he clarified his statements saying, “I meant the goondas, who forced the people to migrate from Kairana and other places, will be forced to leave, if BJP comes to power.”

He had also accused the Samajwadi Party of patronising the 'goondas', who were responsible for mass exodus.

The Allahabad High Court this month sought to know from the Uttar Pradesh government what steps have been taken to ensure the safety and security of Hindus in Kairana, whose alleged exodus following extortion threats and violent attacks by local musclemen, led to a political controversy.

The alleged exodus of Hindus from Kairana made headlines last year when local BJP MP Hukum Singh released a list of more than 300 Hindu families who had reportedly fled the town following repeated extortion threats and violent attacks.

Singh had alleged that the ruling Samajwadi Party was preventing action against anti-social elements responsible for the exodus since they happened to be its supporters.