‘Why Should I Visit Those Who Burnt Bijnor’: UP Minister On Not Meeting Families Of Deceased Anti-CAA Protesters

Uttar Pradesh (UP) Minister Kapil Dev Agarwal, on the controversy which erupted after he refused to visit the families of two men who died during anti-CAA violence in Bijnor, said, why should he meet with those who burnt the city.

Minister Kapil Dev Agarwal went to meet Om Raj Saini, a man who was injured in the violence that took place in the Nehtaur area of Bijnor last week, and met his family. However, He did not meet the families of Anas and Suleiman who had died in the violence and lived in the same area.

This had stirred a controversy in which several alleged the minister of prioritising one religion over another.

However, when asked why he did not visit the families of Anas and Suleiman, the minister replied, "Why should I go to the homes of rioters? Those who are rioting and want to inflame passions -- how are they part of society? Why should I go there? This is not about Hindu-Muslim. Why should I go to rioters?"

Meanwhile, Om Raj's family maintains he was not part of any mob and that he was returning from the fields when he was shot at, allegedly with an illegal weapon of a rioter.

There have been violent protests in several parts of the country against the new Citizenship Act.

The men who died in Bijnor during Friday's violence are 20-year-old Suleiman, an IAS aspirant, and 25-year-old Anas. The local police has admitted that Suleiman died in police firing.

Samajwadi Party spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said the incident reflected the BJP's anti-minority policy and is a perfect example of why the CAA has been brought in.

Congress spokesman Dujendra Tripathi said it was a matter of shame that the minister gave priority to religion even in a tragedy.

(With inputs from IANS)