Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday sought to assure the Hindus, who had 'migrated' from Kairana town in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district, allegedly after 'threats' from the Muslims during the previous Samajwadi Party (SP) regime.
''Traders and others were forced to leave the town and migrate elsewhere after being threatened by criminals....those families are now returning,'' Adityanath said while addressing a public meeting at Kairana.
The chief minister also said that the state government would pay compensation to the families that had suffered losses and had also lost their members during the previous regimes.
Adityanath, who met some of the families that had migrated but had since returned, and assured them that they would be given protection. ''You need not fear now....the government has set up a permanent base for a PAC battalion here on the demand of the people.....1,278 PAC jawans will be stationed here,'' he said.
Later, speaking to reporters, the chief minister defended his visit to Kairana and said that there was nothing wrong in meeting the victims of violence. ''Is it a crime to meet the members of the families, who had suffered, if they are Hindus?'' he retorted when pointed out that the opposition parties had dubbed his visit as an attempt to polarise the polls.
Hundreds of Hindus had migrated from Kairana allegedly after being threatened by the Muslims during the SP regime. The issue was raised in the Lok Sabha also by the then Kairana BJP MP Hukum Singh.
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