Akhilesh Yadav braces for showdown in UP assembly

"What was the government doing? Where were its intelligence agencies? Was discontent brewing among locals?" asked leader of opposition in the state assembly Swamy Prasad Maurya.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader said his party would repeat its demand for imposition of president's rule in the state.

"We have been saying this all through. Our leader Mayawati had predicted long back that the people of the state would regret voting for the Samajwadi Party. Sadly in the process, precious lives are being lost and the state is being defamed," Maurya told IANS.

Pradeep Mathur, leader of the Congress legislature party, said his party was in no mood to spare the Samajwadi Party.

"How can we be silent on the bloodbath and mayhem this government has allowed to take place in Muzaffarnagar. The riots are unpardonable and someone will have to own up to the responsibility," he said.