ndtv.com - February 16, 2017
by Rana Ayyub
[ . . . ]
I am writing this column days after the most polarized districts of
Western UP like Muzaffarnagar and Shamli have cast their vote because
the purpose of this column was not to influence the voter but to put on
display the shameful apathy of our so-called secular leaders.
[ . . . ]
As I travelled through Baghra, Budhana and Jansath tehsils in
Muzaffarnagar, where Muslims form roughly 45 percent of the population, I
met people who were scared at the prospect of the election. They feared
that with BJP leaders including party president Amit Shah bringing up
the Ayodhya issue and the alleged Hindu exodus from Kairana, there could be a return of communal tension in the state. They feared for their women and children, but had nowhere to go.
More
appalling was the fact that the very people who were most affected
during the Muzaffarnagar riots, who had lost their property, were
willing to give Akhilesh Yadav another chance as Chief Minister of Uttar
Pradesh.
[ . . . ]
FULL TEXT AT: http://www.ndtv.com/opinion/akhilesh-yadav-rahul-gandhis-claim-of-secularism-exposed-1658995