Section 144 has been imposed in Moradabad, UP, ahead of the Jal Abhishek at a temple . The VHP plans to reinstall a loudspeaker at a temple.

Tensions have been escalating between the BJP and the Samajwadi Party-led government after BJP workers were detained by the police for the communal clashes in Kanth.

Tensions escalated between the BJP and SP government after a Mahapanchayat called by the BJP in Moradabad to take up the issue of the removal of a loud speaker from a temple was banned by the state government.

The 'mahapanchayat' or gathering was called by the state BJP in defiance of the state order, after a recent dispute in Kanth, over removal of a loudspeaker from a temple, which led to communal tension in the area.
Over 60 BJP workers were arrested after they protested against the local administration on July 15.