Rajnath to address rally at Kairana on Nov 7

A home department spokesman had said that on verification of the list provided by BJP MP Hukum Singh, it was found that 66 families had left Kairana 10 years ago.

Shamli, Nov 1: Home Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to address a rally at Kairana in Uttar Pradesh, which was in the limelight over alleged migration of Hindus, on November 7 as part of BJP's Parivartan Yatra in the poll-bound state.

The alleged exodus was first raised by BJP MP Hukum Singh who said Hindus were leaving the town due to fear.

Top BJP leaders including party president Amit Shah had also raked up the issue. However, the BJP MP had made a U-turn after a few days, saying the "migration" was "not communal" in nature but had more to do with the law and order situation.

Hukum Singh said the party's Parivartan Yatra would reach the town on November 7 where Rajnath would address a rally.

He said the Home Minister's programme was initially scheduled for November 6, but got postponed. A probe team of the National Human Rights Commission had found that many families "migrated" from Kairana due to threats pertaining to "increase in crime" and "deterioration" of law-and-order situation there.

The National Commission for Minorities (NCM), however, had virtually rejected claims that there was large-scale migration of communities, saying there seems to be "no evidence" suggesting exodus of any community from the town of the poll-bound state.in June, a probe conducted by the Shamli district administration into the alleged migration had found that in the list of 346 families, 188 had left over five years ago.

A home department spokesman had said that on verification of the list provided by BJP MP Hukum Singh, it was found that 66 families had left Kairana 10 years ago.

PTI