Secular tourism by top leaders won’t help: BJP

The BJP on Monday said the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi to the violence-hit Muzaffarnagar district was only an act of “secular tourism on communal riots.”

The BJP on Monday said the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi to the violence-hit Muzaffarnagar district was only an act of “secular tourism on communal riots.”

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BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said: “The way secular tourism is being undertaken over the issue of communal riots, it will not help provide any kind of compensation to the dead and will not heal the wounds of riot victims.”

He said whatever the PM has said was of no use, as people want action and not words.

He sought to know why Sonia and Rahul were allowed to go to Muzaffarnagar when BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad and others were prevented.

“Even a central minister (Ajit Singh) was not permitted to go there. They were told if they visit the place the situation will worsen. But the Prime Minister, the super prime minister and yuvraj went there only to rub salt on the wounds of the victims,” Naqvi said.

BJP chief Rajnath Singh said if only the Centre intervened in time, such a big tragedy could have been avoided.