The blamegame has begun in right earnest between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party over Muslim votes in Uttar Pradesh.
Both the parties are intensifying their battle and blaming each other for the plight of the Muslims in the state. The Samajwadi Party, which has been the sole custodian of Muslim votes in UP after the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992, is now apparently feeling threatened by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s aggressive campaign. The issue of Muslim reservation has further upset the Samajwadis who feel that the issue will work to Congress advantage.
The Samajwadis are now pushing Mohammed Azam Khan as the Muslim face of the party and the latter is using all his lung power to berate the Congress.
“The BJP stabs you from the front while the Congress stabs you from behind,” he said at a meeting in Barabanki on Sunday. According to the Samajwadi strategy, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav will adopt a more cautious approach while attacking the Congress in the coming elections but Mr Khan, known to be a vitriolic orator, will go all out to attack the Congress and remind them of the party’s role in the Babri demolition. Mr Yadav, according to sources, wants to maintain a congenial relationship with the Congress in view of the possibility of a post poll alliance. The Congress, on the other hand, is pushing its Muslim agenda with a vengeance, taking advantage of the fact that the Samajwadi Party cannot support the issue — since that will upset its OBC vote bank — and nor can the party reject it because that will anger the Muslim vote-bank.
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EC order Criticism ill-informed: CEC
New Delhi, Jan. 9: Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi on Monday dismissed criticism against its decision to drape the statues of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati and BSP symbol elephant on public property, calling it “ill-informed”. “I am surprised this (EC order) has been taken as something unusual. There is a model code of conduct which says there should be a level-playing field for all candidates and parties. The code says nobody will get an unfair advantage. Government and public property will not be used for political gain... The criticism is ill-informed,” he said. — PTI