New Delhi: As if extravagant celebrations at the annual Saifai Mahotsav weren't inappropriate enough, a 17-member delegation of legislators and ministers from Uttar Pradesh will head out for a 20-day study tour on Wednesday.
ALSO VIEW: Muzaffarnagar riot victims suffering in relief camps
Current and former MLAs are part of a delegation, a part of UP's Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, leaving behind Muzaffarnagar riot victims to fend for themselves in the cold.
The tour, for which the travelling party has contributed Rs 2 lakh each – roughly the same amount is being spent by the government — has eight cabinet ministers led by Azam Khan.
Another SP leader Abu Asim Azmi was seen enjoying a lavish meal at Kandhla on Sunday evening hours after visiting several relief camps in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli districts.
Riot victims from Lisadh village, which was worst hit in the communal unrest that struck Muzaffarnagar and neighbouring areas in September last year, were evicted from Idgah camp in Kandhla on January 1.
Due to dearth of ration, they are now satiating their hunger by chewing sugarcane.
Whereas, their leaders will tour Istanbul, The Hague, Amsterdam, London, Greece and UAE at a time when the state government is facing flak for mismanagement of Muzaffarnagar riots.
Even four months later, countless news reports and independent surveys by civil society organizations and individuals have highlighted the plight of riot victims in sub-human conditions in relief camps.
Although CM Akhilesh Yadav had earlier agreed to travel with the delegation for two days, he later refused.
