"SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said that the violent incidents in Muzaffarnagar were caste conflicts. However, Minority Affairs Minister Azam Khan said these were the worst communal riots in India after the 2002 Gujarat riots," Pathak said.
He questioned what he called "efforts by the SP government to cover up its administrative and intelligence failure" and said such efforts will only increase the pain of the people displaced in the riots.
He said the Samajwadi Party and the Congress "should ensure that the guilty behind the riots are booked", he said.
Earlier, state BJP president Laxmikant Bajpai dared the government to arrest party legislators booked by the district administration for their alleged role in the Muzaffarnagar riots.
"Two of our MLAs accused falsely by the police are attending the monsoon session of the assembly. I dare the government to arrest them," Bajpai said, accusing the state government of falsely implicating the legislators.
Updated on: September 17, 2013 12:47 IST
