With Hindu-Muslim sammelans, SP seeks to fulfill two targets

The party leadership has decided that Muslim leaders will address the unity sammelans held in Hindu-dominated areas, while Hindu leaders will be sent to areas where Muslims are in majority.

Two such sammelans were held in Saharanpur city and Deoband town on Sunday and Monday, respectively. Apart from local SP leaders from the district, several leaders from adjoining districts like Meerut, Baghpat and

Muzaffarnagar also attended the unity conference. Local people from both the communities who had suffered during communal riots were also invited.

SP’s national general secretary Arshad Khan was the chief guest of the sammelan held in the Hindu-dominated Saharanpur area, which had witnessed communal riots in July last year.

“In the Hindu-Muslim unity sammelan held on August 23, a large number of Muslims turned up. People are coming on their own as they are now fed up with the communal politics of BJP. The communal agenda is losing ground. People are for peace and development. Even those who faced riots were present to appeal for peace,” Jagpal Das, SP’s Saharanpur unit president said.

The seminar held at the Muslim-dominated Deoband area on Monday was attended by SP’s trader wing head Hulas Rai Singhal. “People attended the sammelan in good numbers. Everybody wants peace and it is just a matter of who takes the initiative,” said Maviya Ali, Chairman of Deoband Municipal Board.

The sammelans will be held over the next fortnight at every district and depending on the response, their frequency will increase, Das said.