JOIN USMulayam's saffron tilt irks clerics
Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav’s remark on his readiness to align with the BJP has not gone down well with Muslim clerics and community leaders from his own party.
While the clerics have voiced their resentment over Mulayam’s “attempt to forge” a relationship with the BJP, Muslim leaders within the SP felt that such remarks could dent the party’s support base the community.
“Muslims will certainly look for an alternative if Mulayam Singh Yadav thinks of aligning with the BJP for political gains,” said Mufti Arif Quasmi, a senior cleric with the prestigious Islamic seminary Darul Uloom at Deoband.
Muslim clerics sought to ask Mulayam if he was ready to forgive Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for the communal riots in the state. “Will he also forgive the BJP for the demolition of the Babri Masjid,” they asked.
Another senior cleric said that Mulayam had his eyes on the post of the prime minister and his remarks only reflected that he would be ready to accept support of any political party for that.
Muslim leaders within the SP also felt that the remarks had sent a wrong message to the community though they tried to play it down. “We have learnt our lessons by aligning with Kalyan Singh in 2009 Lok Sabha polls. The Muslims deserted us. We will never make the same mistake again,” said a senior Muslim leader of the party while speaking to Deccan Herald here.
The SP leaders, however, said that not much should be read into Mulayam’s remarks.
Mulayam had publicly apologised to the community for aligning with Kalyan in the previous elections. The SP could secure only 20 seats then and had lost heavily in the Muslim-dominated districts in the state. The SP supremo, while speaking in the Lok Sabha a few days ago, had reportedly said he would have no problems in tying up with the BJP if the latter changed its stand on Kashmir, Ram Temple-Babri Masjid and its attitude towards the Muslims.