Lucknow: The BJP today criticised a Uttar Pradesh minister for alleging that their party was behind the communal riots in Muzaffarnagar that left 48 people dead.
State Public Works Department (PWD) minister Shivpal Singh Yadav made the statement at a press conference on Sunday evening.
State Bharatiya Janata Party spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak accused the minister, who is also the younger brother of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, of trying to indict the BJP without any basis or proof.
"This is being done yet again with an eye on minority votes," Pathak told IANS Monday.
"The state government has already appointed a judicial commission to probe the riots. Why is then Yadav giving such statements?" Pathak asked.
The BJP leader said that if Shivpal Yadav knew so much about the role of the BJP, he should come out with facts and evidence rather than hurl unsubstantiated charges.
"Unfortunately, the SP leaders are yet to realise that the tragic riots of Muzaffarnagar that killed so many people and displaced thousands was largely a mess created by them," Pathak said.
The BJP has accused the state government of administrative failure.