Holi loses colour as leaders stay away in UP

Holi lost much of its colour in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday as most political leaders did not participate in the festival due to various reasons. Those that did celebrate were away from the state capital. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, his father Mulayam Singh Yadav, uncles Shivpal Singh Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav, cousin Dharmendra Yadav and their families left for their native village Sefai on Tuesday evening and celebrated Holi with family and friends on Wednesday. The family did not use water colours and played symbolic Holi with flowers. BSP leader as well as leader of Opposition, Swami Prasad Maurya, did not play Holi and neither did he venture out of his house in Lucknow during the day. “The prevailing state of affairs in the state is rather upsetting and it is not safe to move out of your house,” he told this correspondent on Thursday. State BSP president Ram Achal Rajbhar also confined himself in his home in Ambedkar Nagar and did not play Holi. Incidentally, BSP president Mayawati has always “advised” her party cadres not to “waste money” on festivals and she herself never celebrates festivals like Holi and Diwali. Congress legislature party leader Pradeep Mathur confined himself to his constituency in Mathura and played Holi with the local people while BJP state president, Laxmikant Bajpai, celebrated the festival in his home in Meerut. “Like previous years, I moved out on my scooter and met people and exchanged greetings. People threw colours on me without any reservations and we ate sweets. This is one festival where barriers break down and people mingle as one community,” he said. Former UPCC president and Congress MLA Dr Rita Bahuguna Joshi celebrated Holi with her family in Allahabad on a subdued note. Her husband had recently undergone a major surgery and Ms Joshi said that she avoided playing colours and restricted herself to her family. Senior BJP leader Kalraj Misra did not celebrate the festival because of a death in the family. “I did not meet anyone either because you cannot stop people from smearing colour. Today, (Thursday) I will be meeting party workers to exchange greetings,” he said. Former CLP leader Pramod Tiwari, who lost his wife a few months ago, also opted to stay away from the celebrations.