Rahul Gandhi's visit to Muzaffarnagar attempt to fool Muslims: Atul Anjan

He added that the visit was being made only because of elections

Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Atul Anjan said on Tuesday that Rahul Gandhi's visit to Muzaffarnagar was an attempt to fool the Muslims.

"Rahul Gandhi's visit is to Muzaffarnagar is another attempt to make a fool of the Muslims. It is only because of the elections," said Anjan.

"I want to tell the Congress that the government had declared that they had done a lot for the Muslims minorities, whereas, nothing has been actually done. " he said.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirti Azad claimed that not a single penny had been spent for the welfare of Muslim minorities in the past three years.

"In my area the people are not getting any benefit. They had made huge claims that they are going to do a lot for the minorities," said Azad.

"When they were questioned in the Parliament, it was revealed that not even a single penny has been invested towards addressing this issue," he said.

Rahul Gandhi had on Sunday interacted with people languishing in relief camps in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli Districts.

He began his visit by meeting victims at the Malakpur relief camp in Shamli district. Later, he interacted at nearby Khurgan and Barnavi camps.

Forty-five people had died in the prosperous sugarcane district of Muzaffarnagar and surrounding areas when clashes erupted between Muslims and majority Hindu Jats - a conservative farming community. Government officials say 10 of the dead were Hindus.

Victims are languishing in some 40 schools and mosques that have been converted into relief camps across Muzaffarnagar and neighbouring areas.

Earlier, over 40 children died in the relief camps due severe weather conditions, dengue outbreak and lack of basic hygiene.

The clashes were triggered on August 27 when a Muslim youth was stabbed to death by two Hindu youths after being accused of sexually harassing their sister. A Muslim mob stoned the two Hindus to death.

In the following days the police have been accused of inaction and politicians from various parties gave inflammatory speeches, stoking tension between Hindus and Muslims who, local people say, had lived in this area in relative harmony since independence in 1947.

Bloodshed followed when Hindus returning from the rally clashed with Muslims.