Lucknow: Nearly 2000 security personnel, several tankers of water, separate transformers for power- that is how Mulayam Singh's home town Saifai is being manned for the grand annual extravaganza called 'Saifai Mahotsav'.
Bollywood stars Madhuri Dixit and Salman Khan are performing tonight at the event but what is ruining the evening for the Uttar Pradesh government is the mounting criticism for this misplaced festival. While father-son duo Mulayam-Akhilesh watch glittering performances at the grand fare, hundreds of riot victims continue to suffer in Muzzafarnagar.
Adding to the insensitivity of the Samajwadi Party government, Legislators in the state are on a study tour of five countries, all in the expense of the tax payers. UP Minister Azam Khan-led MLAs are leaving tonight for the international study tour that would last for 20 days.
With just a few months left for the crucial general elections, SP supremo is bringing in Bollywood stars to his hometown instead of paying a visit to the camps where the riot victims are battling cold and in need of basic facilities.
Azam Khan, the minority face of the Akhilesh Yadav government has also not visited Muzaffarnagar even once after the riots but that is in no way stopping the Minister and his colleagues in the state government to embark on a foreign trip.
And ironically, when festivities in Safai are on in full swing and Azam Khan and other ministers are busy preparing for their flight, district administration in Shamli has filed cases against eight riot victims for refusing to vacate makeshift camps.
Muzaffarnagar has been in the focus of political discourse and debate in UP in the election year. While BJP felicitated its MLAs accused of fomenting trouble in Muzaffarnagar, Mayawati has demanded imposition of President's Rule in the state. While on the other hand, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has already visited the relief camps twice.
Senior Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed on Wednesday said, "When communal problems happen in the country only two people rejoice; Pakistan's ISI and India's BJP."
For Mulayam Singh Yadav, this could be a make or break election as an extremely angry Muslim community may end up creating huge problems for him. But what is baffling is his complete callousness to the violence in Muzzafarnagar.
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