With the Uttar Pradesh by-elections knocking at the door, some BJP leaders are resorting to questionable tactics to garner votes, according to media reports. Although BJP has officially not included "love jihad" in their political agenda for Uttar Pradesh, it looks like some are unwilling to let the issue go easily. Controversial BJP MLA Sangeet Som has announced a mahapanchayat to protest against alleged 'love jihads' and incidences of cow slaughters on the eve of the by-polls in Uttar Pradesh.
Speaking to media organisations, Som said that “Love jihad is being done in a planned manner with the involvement of terror outfits. It will be a major issue of discussion at the mahapanchayat because such incidents have increased in the last few years.” Around one lakh members from across western Uttar Pradesh are expected to attend the event to voice their opinion about an issue, which has shot to national fame in the last few days. According to Som, there is an attempt by youths from a particular community to indulge in 'eve-teasing' of Hindu girls. He claimed that nearly 400 people have lodged complaints with him regarding this matter. Som's name cropped up during the Muzaffarnagar riots last year and he was arrested on the charge of inciting violence. The by-polls in the state are scheduled to be held in 11 assembly seats, including four in western UP and one Lok Sabha seat in the state on September 13.
On the other hand, another controversial leader who is also BJP's lead campaigner for the by-polls in Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath, gave another caustic speech where he blamed people of a minority religion for the state’s recent communal tensions. “There have been 450 riots cases in western UP in two-and-a-half years of the Samajwadi Party because the population of a particular community is rising manifold. Why are there no riots in eastern UP? you can easily understand,” he said during a rally in Noida.
Taking forward his earlier theory of communal violence when the minority population is above a particular threshold, Adityanath reportedly said that "In places where there are 10 to 20% minorities, stray communal incidents take place. Where there are 20 to 35% of them, serious communal riots take place and where they are more than 35%, there is no place for them." The BJP MP was also under attack in recent days after two CDs surfaced in which he is shown making inflammatory speeches against minorities. His speech in the Lok Sabha during discussion about the Communal Violence Bill was widely criticised.
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