UP:Trouble for Akhilesh & Mayawati;1 dead over SP,BSP clash

Lucknow, Mar 10: One person died and five people critically injured following a fresh clash between the party workers of Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP). The man died when the two party workers reportedly attacked each other in Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, Mar 10.

The fight might be proved as a fatal for Akhilesh Yadav who is all set to become the next Chief Minister of the state. However, it may also bring more trouble for Mayawati who recently lost her power following the defeat in assembly election 2012.

This was not the first time that Samajwadi Party workers' names surfaced in such brutal activities. The incidents of violence has only shown a spike since the SP won it big in UP.

The day SP was crowned as the single largest party in Uttar Pradesh after the election results were declared on Mar 6, many incidents of violence started to stream in from various parts of the state. After the first such incident, Akhilesh commented, "We will deal with an iron hand with SP workers who indulge in goondaism and violence."

Looks like the party workers have taken little head to this strong message by the SP chief. On Mar 8, a BSP village pradhan, who is also a Dalit, Munna Lal was stabbed to death allegedly by SP party workers with a spear. He was attacked in his house Mansukhpura Agra, after he was dragged out and attacked. No arrests have been made on the case yet.

The fact that Dalits have been targeted the most is also a disturbing trend emerging in the state. Dalit villagers in Hardoi and Sitapur are mute victims to this atrocity. The houses of Dalit villagers in Sitapur was burnt down allegedly by SP supporters for supporting the independent candidate in the polls. Also, in Balia five women and children were beaten up by SP workers because the villagers there voted for the JDU candidate.

With the SP desperately trying to shake off the "party of goons" tag, looks like the top leaders will have to flex their muscles a little more to rein in the unruly elements in the party.

OneIndia News