UP Minister calls Kasganj violence a minor incident, says no need to pay heed

KANPUR: While the situation remains volatile in Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh in view of the communal clashes that took place last week, Uttar Pradesh minister Satyadev Pachauri has stoked a controversy by calling the violence a "minor incident".

"Such minor incidents happen often... everywhere. There is no need to pay much heed," he said.

Holding district authorities responsible for the incident, the minister said steps measures should have been taking in anticipation. "Officials should have taken strict steps to check lawbreakers before the situation took a turn for the worse," he added.

Earlier, UP Minister SP Shahi had said that undue importance was being given to the incident. "It is wrong to give undue importance to any issue. A small incident has happened. An unfortunate incident happened with two people. The government is serious about the matter, it is taking action. The atmosphere of the state should not be vitiated by comparing it to Kashmir," he had said.

However, Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik had termed the clashes as a "blot" on the state. Describing the clashes as 'shameful', he said: "Whatever happened in Kasganj was not good. The incident there is a blot on UP. The government is probing the incident. It should initiate effective measures to ensure that such incidents are not repeated."

The Governor had asked the state authorities to initiate measures to ensure such incidents did not recur.