Uttar Pradesh is on the brink of chaos

The proposed yatra of sadhus in Varanasi on Monday, against the September 22 baton charge by the police on a procession which was heading towards the Ganga for immersion of Lord Ganesha's idol, is proof that communal tension is on the rise before the 2017 Assembly elections. The situation is already charged up in western UP after the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots. Extremist groups may now target Varanasi or the surrounding districts in eastern UP to polarise communities before the polls.

What is most unfortunate is that all political parties are adding fuel to the fire for their personal gains. Sadhvi Prachi, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader has been camping there and making inflammatory statements against all non-Hindu and non-BJP forces. Although this lathi charge had nothing to do with Muslims, she even went to the extent of saying that Muslims must stop visiting areas near Hindu temples. Few people know that the Sadhvi was camping in Muzaffarnagar before the 2013 riots.

Though the Varanasi administration has now prevented idol immersion in the Ganga, the sadhus have declared that they won't follow the instruction and will immerse Durga idols in the river during the festival of Dussehra. There is an apparent deadlock between the local administration and the sadhus and a section of fanatics are leaving no stone unturned to make it communal.

Meanwhile, the district magistrate Rajmani Yadav recently met Swami Avimukteshwaranand at the Sri Vidya Math and requested him to rethink the yatra. But the Swami said chief minister Akhilesh Yadav was responsible for the decision of the lathi charge on sadhus and must make a public apology.

The Samajwadi Party is facing flak from Hindu groups and other political parties.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) recently took out a Dharm Raksha Sankalp Yatra in protest against the lathi charge. Laxman Acharya, zonal president of the BJP said, "The state government has failed to pacify the decision of lathi charge. There is anger in the people. Our public representatives have also given warning to the state government to get ready to face the music."

The Congress too is not far behind. Congress general secretary Madhusudan Mistry also met Swami Avimukteshwaran and extended his support to him. "It is the policy of the SP government to target the sadhus. The government did this with a particular strategy. The Congressmen will participate in the yatra on October 5," Mistry declared.

The political climate is ugly and reminds one of the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots when more than 60 people were killed and 50,000 displaced. The leaders of almost all the political parties had participated in a series of rallies held there before the massacre started. Even the police and local administration had played a dubious role in flaring up the situation.

The murder of Mohammad Akhlaq in Dadri last Tuesday must be seen in this context. The fact is true that western UP is already sitting on a time bomb which can explode at anytime. But this time, communal forces appear more interested in polarising east UP, where Varanasi is located, which could possibly result in another riot.