Vultures go where carcasses lie: PM, Sonia and Rahul visit Muzaffarnagar

There is seemingly no end to the tokenism that UPA has showed throughout its rule. Only a day after Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav faced ire of his own people when he went to visit Muzaffaragar, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi and possible successor Rahul Gandhi to soothe the burning souls.

Briefing the media a short while after landing in Muzaffarnagar, the PM said that he “shared the grief” of the families of the riot victim and that the state government should take the responsibility of the incidence.

The trio visited the three relief camps set up by the state government in Bassi Kala and Taawlil area. They also visited Jat-dominated Bawali and Khanjpura villages, which too have witnessed riots.

Although the PM assured the residents of swift action and justice to the families, he came face to face with the anguish among them. The residents showed the same attitude which they showed to their CM. They demanded security and relief. They were quite vocal in dismissing the “tokenism” being shown by the visiting leaders.

The uncertain future of the people who have taken shelter in the camps lies in the hands of the authorities, who, according to them, have not done anything to help them. They do not wish to go back to their homes.

While they were on the visit, the central government filed an affidavit on the riots. It came after the Supreme Court’s direction to both the central and the state government to file a compliance report regarding the riots. The SC is due to hear the Muzaffarnagar case on Thursday this week.

In a way, the hypocrisy of the UPA government came out because of this visit. The PM did not utter a single word about the politicians who have been clearly named in the FIR. Neither did Rahul or Sonia Gandhi say anything about demanding invoking of Article 356.

If they were so sure of Akhilesh government festering communal forces, why aren’t they coming hard on his government?

The opposition has already started criticising the move. Ruling SP’s Azam Khan came out in support of the state government saying if PM is so concerned he should visit other areas also where communal violence has taken place as people there too await justice. “The elections are close, the prime minister is wise to visit those affected by the riots,” he said.

BSP leader Mayawati called PM’s visit a little too late. She accused him of indulging in drama and said, “Only words won’t help in this case from PM. Centre should instead as we said dismiss the SP government. The government should instantly dismiss the SP govt and put in place president’s rule in UP. If this decision is not taken then the PM is only indulging in drama.”

BJP spokesperson Abbas Naqvi called the arrival of the trio as “secular tourism”.

The local youth Congress wing too decided to march on streets only on the day their leaders arrived. With Rita Bahuguna Joshi as their mentor, they occupied all the streets demanding action from the state government.

All the situation and the eagerness shown by the Congress leaders has only strengthened the idea that the visit was just another photo-op. It was to tell the world that they were physically present. It was a mere vote bank tactics by the Congress which is too scared to face the public with the charges of corruption and dwindling economy.

Standing with the public at the hour of pain even without doing substantial gets noticed. And the recent trend in Congress is to go all out for the public. As Rahul Gandhi himself said, their leaders will curb their own dreams to fulfil their dreams.

It is only for the time to tell whether they stand firm on their words or not, but the vulture is in the public eye now. And the public very well knows that vultures go only where carcasses lie.