We do not have food to eat,who cares about Pakistani agents: Riot victim who met Rahul

“We do not have food to eat,beds to sleep or blankets to ward off the cold and politicians are saying we are getting calls from Pakistan. We don’t even have money to keep our phones running. My family and I along with hundreds of others from Kutba have been in this relief camp since September 10. Each day is a struggle,who cares about Pakistani agents,” said Ahmed,who has been living in the Bassikalan relief camp.

When the Prime Minister and the Gandhis toured riot-hit villages on September 17,Ahmed was one among the few to meet the trio. “I remember breaking into tears when I told them how my family and I fled the village in the dead of night. Our house lies in ruins,our livelihood is destroyed. We hoped they would act. We still do. We do not want drama nor do we understand it,” Ahmed said.

Another Kutba resident echoed Ahmed’s sentiments. “We expected them to get something done. It has been about 40 days now and there is no visible change. The government here does nothing for us,we are surviving on charity from the locals,” Mohammed Zafar Yusuf said.

According to Yusuf,the Kutba survivors do not even form a vote-bank. “They seem to be playing politics with our plight. What they do not understand is that we are homeless,which means we cannot vote either,” Yusuf said. He said government aid these days included bare continued minimum rations — rice and daal — a blanket and toothbrush.

Such is the indignation that at a relief camp in neighbouring Khairana,the riot hit even contemplated burning an effigy of Rahul Gandhi. “What does he mean by this statement? The whole day people from the media have come to us with ridiculous questions like ‘are we aligned with India or with Pakistan’ or ‘how many calls have we received from Pakistan,” Abdul Qadeer,from Lisarh village,said.

Back in Bassikalan,survivors know their anger means little. “We are at the mercy of the government,whether state or central. My relatives died on September 8 in Kutba. Here,my family and I die every day,” Ahmed said.