BJP slams Mulayam's remarks on Muzaffarnagar relief camps

NEW DELHI: BJP today hit out at Samajwadi Party for claiming that no riot victim was left in Muzaffarnagar relief camps, saying it showed the "mentality" of the party's leaders who accuse it of being communal.

The saffron party also attacked Congress for indulging in "secular tourism" in riot-hit areas of Uttar Pradesh.

BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi criticised SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav for his remark that no riot victim was left in relief camps and Congress and BJP workers were staying there as part of a conspiracy to tarnish the SP government's image in UP.

"The SP government says the affected are not riot victims but are of a political party. Then you (SP) should identify them. This is a tamasha (drama) of playing with the sentiments of the dead and accusing BJP of doing so," Naqvi told reporters here.

"SP, in the name of secularism, is playing politics. Instead of applying balm on the wounds of the affected, they are hurting them by pricking needles on their wounds. This shows their mentality," he said.

Naqvi also attacked Congress leaders for repeatedly visiting relief camps in Muzaffarnagar and accused the party of trying to "seek the sympathy" of a particular community and indulge in vote-bank politics.

In a veiled attack on Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi for making a surprise visit to Muzaffarnagar relief camps, he said the party leaders were indulging in "long holiday drives".

"The Congress party and its leaders, when they have a holiday, they feel like going on a long drive. So on this holiday long drive, they reached Muzaffarnagar this time. A few months ago, the whole family had visited the place for doing secular tourism," the BJP leader said.

The SP supremo had yesterday created a flutter by claiming that no riot victim was left in the relief camps in Muzaffarnagar and only supporters of Congress and BJP were staying there as part of a conspiracy to tarnish the image of his party's government in UP.