SP spokesman sacked for Bhatkal remark

 Senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Kamal Farooqui was on Thursday sacked from the post of national general secretary of the party apparently for his remark on the Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal.

SP sources said Farooqui had been removed from the post but did not elaborate. The SP had earlier distanced itself from the remarks by Farooqui on Bhatkal. SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav had said though Farooqui was the SP spokesman the remarks could be his personal view.

Farooqui had, soon after Bhatkal’s arrest, said that the police should not reach any hasty conclusion. “If he is a terrorist, he should be punished but if he has been arrested because he is a Muslim, then we should exercise caution as it will send a wrong message to the entire community,” Farooqui had then said.

The SP leader’s remarks had landed the party in a difficult situation as opposition parties had launched a scathing attack on it for what they called as supporting a terrorist.