Riots top poll issue in Nuh

A unique celebration grips a public meeting of Congress candidate Aftab Ahmed in Kherla village as the news about Supreme Court banning ‘unwarranted bulldozer action’ spreads. Kherla has not forgotten the Nuh riots of August 2023, when amidst the curfew, bulldozers swarmed the village pulling down houses as old as 40 years after being declared illegal. The village asks Aftab to ensure justice to them.

Simmering anger

People are still simmering in anger as they lost homes, were arrested and many have been virtually declared terrorists . Wherever we go they just want us to win to avenge the riots. — Aftab Ahmed, Congress candidate

“They flattened half the village, took way our boys and beat them in jail saying all were rioters. We still remember the rebuke we faced and this election don’t give us vikas but give us justice,” cheers the crowd.

While it's been over an year now, but Mewat refuses to forget the Nuh riots that not just tore apart the communal harmony of centuries but also left many Meo Muslims at the receiving end. The then BJP government led by CM ML Khattar drew flak for going UP CM Yogi Adityanath’s way of ‘bulldozer justice’ and breaking down the houses, shops, etc., of Meo Muslims. The government had then claimed that these were illegal and used to pelt stones at Jalabhishek Yatra which triggered the riots, killing seven. Though the government and the state moved on, Meo Muslim dominated constituencies like Nuh, Ferozpur Jhirka, Punhana and Tauru segment of Sohna, along with some in Palwal like Hathin and Hodal, refuse to forget the riots and it remains the biggest election issue.

“We never expected communally driven BJP to be fair to Mewat and give them development, but nobody could have imagined that the communal harmony that remained intact since a century now would be torn apart for political gains. People are still simmering in anger as they lost homes, were arrested and many have been virtually declared terrorists . Wherever we go they just want us to win to avenge the riots,” said Aftab Ahmed who is contesting from Nuh.

“Nuh is a Muslim-dominated district in Haryana. We had never reported even a single riot in century, but the BJP did this. They targeted leaders like me whose generations have served people with sections like UAPA. Nuh riots hit the soul of Mewat why should people forgive?” said Mamman Khan, Congress candidate from Ferozpur Jhirka.