Under fire SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, UP CM Akhilesh Yadav meet riot victims

LUCKNOW: Facing heat for allegedly ignoring the plight of riot affected people in Muzaffarnagar, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today met a delegation led by a prominent Muslim cleric from the district that accused officials of apathy.

Maulana Arshad Madni said they apprised the Samjwadi Party leaders of their grievances and have sought compensation as well as government jobs for the kin of those missing in the violence.

The delegation members also alleged that they were not getting any help from local officials. Both Mulayam and Akhilesh assured them that their demands will be looked into.

"We appreciate the work done by the state government for Muzaffarnagar riot victims.... We, however, have some demands like compensation and government job for the kin of missing people as have been announced in case of those who died...," Madni, who led the delegation, told reporters.

"If these demands are also met, it will be of great help to the victims," he said.

Alleging that politics was being done on the issue, he said that Muzaffarnagar riots took place due to failure of local administration.

He claimed officials were shirking from their responsibilities and indulging in blame game.

Ashu Malik, who has a minister of state status and was also part of the delegation, said that victims wanted to meet Mulayam and Akhilesh to tell them about their problems.

"The opposition parites are doing politics on the issue.... We are here as the victims wanted to meet the leaders and tell them about their problems," Malik said.

During the meeting, riot victims informed the SP supremo and CM that they were "still getting threats" and blamed administration of Shamli, which too was affected by the riots, and named some officers, who were allegedly not helping them.

Samajwadi Party government has been under attack from the opposition for alleged mishandling of Muzaffarnagar riots and ignoring the riot victims who have been living in relief camps after the violence in September.

The Saifai Mahotsava at Mulayam's native place also drew criticism with the opposition alleging that the government was busy in "fun and frolic", while people were dying in Muzaffarnagar camps.