Politics of grief: Why didn't Modi visit Muzaffarnagar, asks Cong

A day after Narendra Modi’s visit to Patna, where he met the families of people who lost their lives in a series of blasts targeting his Patna rally last week, a full blown political war seems to be brewing. Again. Both the Congress and the ruling JD(U) have taken pot shots at Modi, accusing him of blatantly playing politics over tragedy and grief. [caption id=“attachment_1209015” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Modi in Patna on Saturday: PTI[/caption] Modi who visited the homes of six persons killed in the serial bomb blasts offered his condolences and told the victim’s families that he stood by them in their hour of grief. He also handed over a cheque of Rs 5 lakh on behalf of BJP to each of the victim’s families he met. The amount is equal to that announced by Nitish Kumar for the kin of victims at his press meet soon after the blast. The Congress, clearly unimpressed by the gesture, asked why Modi was displaying such blatant double standards. “Did Narendra Modi really go there to sympathize with the victims of Patna blasts? Why didn’t he go to Muzaffarnagar? He is not even talking about Muzaffarnagar . This is purely politics and nothing else. People of this country are aware that Modi’s Patna visit is political. And this kind of politics is very unfortunate,” party spokesman Rashid Alvi said. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid added that Modi could have visited the victims in hospital, asking why he had decided to come back after such a long time. The JD(U) was also not amused. “This kind of behaviour does not behove a person who has been named as the prime ministerial candidate by the main opposition party. We are not saying he should not come to Bihar. But the time he has chosen is not right,” JD(U) leader Shivanand Tiwari said. Party leader KC Tyagi added that the visit was ‘all drama’.