North India is in the grip of a cold wave. Chilly winds are blowing across the vast plains of the region. At the height of the season’s bitter cold the Akhilesh Yadav government has ruthlessly dismantled refugee camps, forcing them to go out and fend for themselves.

Most of the victims of Muzaffarnagar riots still cannot go back to the villages where they saw their relatives massacred and their homes burnt down. The atmosphere there is still unfavourable for resettlement.

When the camp at Loi village was dismantled by the government the victims shifted to a site some 50 metres away and pitched their tents by the side of a pond. They are assured that they are not going to be evicted anytime too soon as this is not government land, but privately-held property. However, because of the pond it is a colder place.

This wicked act has come after Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had declared on December 23 that there were no riot victims in the camps but Congress and BJP conspirators. One fails to figure out what the SP wants to achieve from such cruelty.

The behaviour of Akhilesh Yadav government has bewildered Muslims all over the state. Nearly 130 anti-Muslim riots of a lower intensity have been staged in UP since SP came to power. The perpetrators have been allowed to go scot free and officials have not been punished for their laxity, or connivance.

It all cumulated in Muzaffarnagar riots, which are compared with Gujarat 2002. Orchestrated by the Sangh’s vicious propaganda and with the presence in UP of Gujarat 2002-accused Amit Shah, this pogrom had all the features of the 2002 killings. The Samajwadi government has been seen to be hand in glove with the Bhartiya Riot Party.

Now this dismantling of refugee camps has come as the latest stab in the back of Muslims whose support was crucial for Samajwadi victory.