Kalyan stopped from going to riot-hit Aligarh

Kanpur, Apr 9 (UNI) Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and BJP National Vice-President Kalyan Sigh was today prevented here by the police from proceeding to the riot-hit Aligarh city.

District Magistrate Anurag Srivastava and Senior Police Superintendent of Police (Kanpur) P C Meena at the Jajmau bridge here prevented the BJP leader from proceeding to Aligarh, holding that situation there may turn ugly again following any such visit.

Both the senior officials were still trying to convince Mr Singh at the Circuit House to abandon his plans to go to Aligarh and return to Lucknow, but the former UP CM was hell-bent on going forward witn his plans, official sources said. Prohibitory orders are already in place in Aligarh, besides curfew in three police station areas.

Interacting with mediapersons here later, Mr Singh said Aligarh was his native district and it was his constitutional right to see the condition of his people who had been shut indoors following indefinite curfew.

Mr Singh, training his guns on the Mulayam Singh govewrnment in UP, said it was following a policy of minority appeasement that it failed to take any action against the rioters in Aligarh.

''The present government has no right to remain in power,'' Mr Singh claimed.

Earlier on Friday last, Leader of Opposition in UP Assembly and senior state BJP leader Lalji Tandon had also been prevented from going to Aligarh. Expeled BJP leader Uma Bharti was also stopped from entering the riot-ravaged city of locks.

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