The Samajwadi Party on Wednesday suffered yet another jolt when senior leader Sikandar Ali resigned from the party and all posts, accusing party chief Akhilesh Yadav of turning a blind eye towards Muslims.
Ali told reporters, "Atrocities are being heaped on Muslim leaders in SP, but the party president is maintaining a studied silence. The situation within the party has become stifling." He said that the SP had won 111 seats on the strength of Muslim votes, but Akhilesh had refused to utter a word on action being taken against leaders like Nahid Hasan and Shazil Islam.
"If Akhilesh Yadav cannot stand up for a senior leader and MLA, how can he be expected to stand up for ordinary members of our community?" he asked.
He further alleged that Akhilesh was surrounded by a coterie and is completely disconnected with party workers at the ground level.
Sikandar Ali is not the first Muslim leader in the Samajwadi Party who has raised a voice against Akhilesh. Earlier, SP MP Shafiqur Rehman Barq had claimed that Akhilesh Yadav had stopped working for Muslims. Samajwadi Party leader Salman Javed Raeen had also tendered his resignation from the party in protest against the alleged apathy of the party leadership towards the Muslim community.
The SP leader from Sultanpur further added that if a "coward leader" could not raise the voice in support of his party men, how could he be expected to raise people's issues.
The SP leader from Rampur, Naveen Sharma, had also quit the SP in support of Azam Khan.
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Published 20 April 2022, 09:38 IST