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Missing in action: Opposition fights shy of taking on bulldozer drive in UP

The SP, with 111 legislators in a House of 403, is the largest entity in the Opposition

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There was a muted response from the Opposition, even as authorities in UP bulldozed Muslim houses, following protests against Nupur Sharma’s remarks

Radhika Ramaseshan
Haji Fazlur Rehman, Saharanpur MP elected from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), decided that things had come to a head in his town when on June 12 the administration rolled in bulldozers and razed the properties — deemed as “illegal” — belonging to Muzammil and Abdul Wakeer. Muzammil and Wakeer have been accused of spearheading the June 10 protests outside a Saharanpur mosque, after the Friday prayers, against former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s remarks on the Prophet.

Rehman reached out to the local Samajwadi Party (SP), Rash­triya Lok Dal (RLD), and Congress members to forge a coalition of