The Shahi Imam and the SP supremo in better days The Shahi Imam and the SP supremo in better days

Issuing a stern warning to Samajwadi Part chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid, Tuesday said Muslims may reconsider support to the ruling party in Uttar Pradesh when the state goes to polls in 2017.

In a letter to Mulayam, Bukhari said Muslims are raising question over Akhilesh Yadav’s leadership and if the present situation continued they will be forced to change their opinion about Samajwadi Party.

He accused the SP of failing to fulfil “promises” made to Muslims in 2012 Assembly elections.

Bukhari also attached a copy of Mulayam’s old letter addressed to him in 2011 seeking support in the 2012 polls promising reservation to Muslims and ensuring justice for the community. After Mulayam’s letter, Bukharihad announced support to SP in the Assembly polls then.

The bonhomie between Mulayam’s party and Bukhari continued for a year during which latter’s son-in-law, Umar Ali Khan, was made an MLC and a close associate, Waseem Ahmed, was appointed chairman of the UP Pollution Control Board. Later, Bukhari and senior

SP leader and UP minister Azam Khan had a brief war of words before the Shahi Imam parted ways with the ruling party in UP.

Now, with the Akhilesh Yadav government completing three years of its five-year tenure, Bukhari has written fresh letter to Mulayam claiming that his son’s leadership is under question as it failed to fulfil the poll promises for Muslims.

“Nearly 100 small and big communal riots had occurred in three years of the regime. We never dreamt of such large scale riots in Muzaffarnagar. It has dented the image of SP and questions are being raised by Muslims over the leadership of Akhilesh,” he wrote in the letter.

“If the situation remains the same, Muslims will be forced to change their opinion about SP. They (SP) took the responsibility of protecting Muslims but sadly communal forces have emerged stronger during their regime,” Bukhari said.

Recalling the promises made by Mulayam to him in 2011, Bukhari said that 16 main issues were included by SP in its election manifesto and none of them have been completely fulfilled.

“There is no success in implementation of recommendations of Sachchar Committee, Nimesh Commission and Ranganath Mishra commission. Urdu has been made second official language but no Urdu expert has been appointed in any department. No Urdu

medium school has been opened in Muslim dominated areas,” Bukhari has written in the letter.

He also claimed that special recruitment camps for Muslims in security forces have also not been organised by the state government

while no innocent Muslim implicated in false terror cases has been released from the jail. “They promised of giving compensation to the Muslim youths and punishing the officials. On the contrary, Khalid Mujahid died under mysterious circumstances in police custody

while Tariq Qasmi got life sentence,” he added.

Bukhari also targeted state government over acquittal of 16 PAC personnel in Hashimpura massacre.

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