LUCKNOW: The Muzaffarnagar incident involving the killing of a Samajwadi Party worker in the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh civic polls on October 28 has become a bone of contention between the ruling party and its alliance partner, Rashtriya Lok Dal.

The Muzaffarnagar district unit president of Lohia Vahini, Muzaffar Rana, was killed in a shootout outside a polling booth following a dispute between supporters of the ruling party and RLD candidates. The SP workers alleged that former MLC Qadeer Rana, an influential RLD leader, was behind the killing.

A day after the killing, two Samajwadi Party MPs from Muzaffaranagar, Munawwar Hasan and Amir Alam Khan, and three ruling party MLAs from the district, Chittaranjan Swaroop, Kiran Pal Kashyap and Uma Kiran, resigned in protest against the police inaction. They demanded arrest of the RLD leader, who, incidentally, was earlier in Samajwadi Party.

The MPs and MLAs attributed the police inaction to pressure being exerted allegedly by an RLD MP, also from Muzaffarnagar district.

With the issue threatening to snowball into a major controversy, the Chairperson of the U.P. Irrigation and Flood Control Commission and RLD MP from Kairana (Muzaffarnagar district), Anuradha Chaudhary, met Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav here on Thursday. Ms Chaudhary later told waiting newspersons that the meeting was held in an amiable atmosphere. She said the Chief Minister had assured her that the matter would be thoroughly investigated and justice would be done to all.

RLD president Chaudhary Ajit Singh, who arrived here in the evening, said a proper inquiry should be conducted into the incident. He said it was the SP workers who were building pressure on the Chief Minister, and not the RLD members. The obvious reference was to the resignation of the SP MPs and MLAs.

Earlier, at a press conference, PWD Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav downplayed the Muzaffarnagar incident and denied that the ruling party MPs and legislators had resigned. He said the party leadership had not received their resignations.

Sources said that the killing was the fallout of political rivalry between the deceased and Qadeer Rana. They said that on polling day a clash took place between rival supporters outside a polling booth in the town following which the RLD leader reportedly fell on the ground after being pushed by the Lohia Vahini president. Incensed at the development, Mr. Rana's nephew allegedly pulled out a revolver and shot Muzaffar Rana from point blank range. He was pronounced dead in the hospital.

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