Shamli: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi came face to face with the bitter reality of the deep communal divide in the sugar belt of Muzaffarnagar and Shamli as he made an unannounced visit to the relief camps and villages in the twin districts on Sunday.
The mistrust between Jats and Muslims was so high that Rahul Gandhi talked about the need for “mediation”.
He also stressed on the urgency to improve the “very bad conditions” in the camps.
Gandhi made a fervent appeal to the riot victims to return home cautioning them that communal forces want to keep them separate but, scores of Muslim victims in camps at Malakpur, Bharnau, Barnali and Madarsa Dabhedi Khurd said a resounding “no” fearing violence back home.
At Malakpur camp, where Gandhi's cavalcade reached criss-crossing the village road via Bapouli, Sanouli Khurd and Kairana via the dilapidated Kairana bypass road in an apparent bid to keep the visit secret, the camp dwellers complained that 23 children have died here due to cold in absence of warm clothes.
Complaints were similar at most of camps located on both sides of the village road dotted with sugarcane farms.
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