The Samajwadi Party on Friday unveiled its Muslim card with the minority face of the party, Azam Khan asking the Congress to induct at least eight to 10 Muslim MPs as Cabinet ministers. Mr Khan also demanded a “referendum” on corruption and stated that the Congress is answerable to the nation for the 2G scam.
Setting the tone for the SP’s electoral campaign for 2012 UP Assembly elections, Mr Khan charged that despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s admission of 50 Congress MPs having won with the support of the minority voters, just one Muslim MP from the party is a Cabinet minister. “Congress MP Ghulam Nabi Azad is the lone Muslim in the Cabinet from the party. Mr Azad hails from Jammu and Kashmir and does not represent Muslims from states like UP, Bihar, Assam and so on. So, I demand that the Congress admit at least eight to 10 Muslim MPs from its ranks as Cabinet ministers,” Mr Khan told reporters, while addressing the media in the company of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Hitting out at the Congress. Mr Khan demanded a referendum on corruption, as he said that a number of scams, including 2G, took place in the last year. “The SP will decide its strategy for the upcoming Budget Session in consultation with other Opposition parties,” he added. However, Mr Khan did not give a direct answer to the question of possibility of electoral alliance with the Congress for the 2012 UP Assembly polls.
Mr Khan also accused Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh of having disappointed the Muslims. “Mr Digvijay Singh keeps on repeating that injustice had been done to Muslims in the Batla House encounter but nothing has been done. If his party does not listen to him, then he should quit the Congress and join the SP,” quipped Mr Khan, who also dismissed all talks of “Hindu terror” and “Muslim terror”, saying that terrorism should not be linked to religion, as it would only weaken the country.