Sambhal:
Despite facing heavy criticism for its failure in preventing a series of communal clashes in Uttar Pradesh since it came to power last year, the Samajwadi Party seems to have hardly learnt any lesson.
At a meeting to promote communal harmony in Sambhal district in western Uttar Pradesh, scores of party members turned up carrying weapons.
The supporters of Pradeep Yadav, minister of state of labour in the Akhilesh Yadav government, were seen sporting rifles and guns. The minister denied the presence of armed supporters when contacted.
State minister Iqbal Mehmood and the Samajwadi Party's Lok Sabha candidate from Sambhal, Javed Ali, were also present at the meeting.
The Samajwadi Party has announced these
'sadbhavna' (harmony) committees to promote communal peace and harmony in western UP districts in the aftermath of the Muzaffarnagar violence which killed nearly 50 people and displaced more than 45,000 people last month.