BJP criticises Mulayam over Muzaffarnagar riots

Mulayam gave his son, UP CM Akhilesh Yadav a clean chit over the riots

The BJP Wednesday criticised Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav for giving a clean chit to his son and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav over the riots in Muzaffarnagar that left 38 dead.

Questioning Mulayam Singh Yadav's statement in Agra Tuesday that the state government had done well to control the riots, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak said that with 38 dead and several injured and the army being called in for the first time in two decades, "what else was administrative failure?"

"These are one of the worst communal clashes in recent times and yet the Samajwadi Party chief chose to pat the state government. It leaves little to be said," the BJP spokesman said.

He also criticised Mulayam Singh Yadav for calling the communal clashes a "caste conflict."

The BJP Tuesday met Governor B.L. Joshi and sought his intervention in improving law and order in the state. The party's national leadership has demanded dismissal of the Akhilesh Yadav government over the communal clashes.

The party has rallied behind Kairana legislator Hukum Singh who is the BJP legislature party's leader in the state assembly after the district administration booked him for his role in the riot.

With his staying put in Muzaffarnagar and the monsoon session of the state assembly slated to begin Sep 16, party sources told IANS that MLA's have been asked to reach Muzaffarnagar to meet Hukum Singh.

Satish Mahana, BJP legislator from Kanpur, has been assigned the task of mobilizing the lawmakers to reach Muzaffarnagar.

The state government has banned the entry of political leaders to the violence-hit city.