SP move makes BJP ‘silently happy’ in UP

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Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav at Parliament House on Wednesday. — ASIAN AGE

The ruling Samajwadi Party’s aggressive attempts at Muslim appeasement may have earned it considerable criticism from its rivals but it has made the BJP in Uttar Pradesh “silently happy”.
The BJP feels that as the Samajwadi Party government bends backwards to appease the Muslims, the greater will be the polarisation of the Hindu votes in its favour.
According to a senior BJP MP, “The Samajwadi Party is getting increasingly restless as the anti-incumbency factor intensifies in the state and is, therefore, crossing all limits in Muslim appeasement so that it can be assured of minority votes. That the ruling party is taking its policy to absurd limits is evident from the manner it has been trying to communalise the Durga Nagpal issue. Even educated Muslims have started reacting to this.”
The BJP, on its part, is going all out to support the suspended officer because it feels that the more the government tries to shift focus on the mosque demolition issue, the greater will be the communal divide.
State BJP president Laxmikant Bajpai said that the Akhilesh Yadav government has already taken its Muslim appeasement policy to “dangerous heights”.
“Everyone accuses the BJP of being a communal force but it is actually the Samajwadi Party that is blatantly playing the communal card, be it scholarships meant for Muslim girls or boundaries for only Muslim graveyards. The Samajwadi government is playing with national interests by promising to release Muslim youth booked on terror charges,” he pointed out.
The BJP is now planning to openly support civil and police officers who are disgruntled with the state government on certain issues.
A party functionary admitted that the party will not only support suspended IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal but also demand compensation equivalent to that given to DSP Zia-ul-Haq (`50 lakhs) for other police personnel killed on duty. “We will expose the Samajwadi Party that favours Muslims for the sake of votes and remains unjust with people belonging to other communities,” he added.
Meanwhile, a Muslim IAS officer echoed similar sentiments when he spoke to this correspondent on condition of anonymity.
The officer, in the rank of principal secretary, also said, “Everyone knows that the officer was suspended because of the sand mafia but the chief minister is holding her responsible for the demolition of the wall which is unfair. As a Muslim, I feel it is wrong to use community sentiments to shield corrupt elements in the government because this will benefit other forces (read BJP).”