The Hindu : SP provoking Muslims: Mayawati

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 04, 2002

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National

SP provoking Muslims: Mayawati

By Our Special Correspondent

LUCKNOW JUNE 3. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati, today lashed out at the Samajwadi Party for what she called its campaign to provoke the Muslim supporters of her party to desert her because of her association with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

While the SP leaders had been making allegations of communalism against the BJP, the truth was that the SP itself had been campaigning to divide society on communal lines, she charged. "The Muslims had, however, realised the sinister move of the SP and had refused to be provoked,'' she said.

Talking to presspersons here, Ms. Mayawati said the results of the recent byelections in the State had amply proved that the SP had been "snubbed" for its attempts to garner support of the minorities by communalising elections. The SP leader in the Assembly, Azam Khan, had made all attempts to arouse communal passions. Instead of taking up relevant public issues, he provoked her party MLAs to defect. His attempts had, however, failed.

Referring to the byelection to the Baheri Assembly seat, she said the SP had nominated the widow of its MLA to get sympathy of Muslims. The SP chief, Mulayam Singh Yadav, had formed an alliance with Sonelal Patel of the Apna Dal and the Rashtriya Kranti Party leader, Kalyan Singh, to defeat her party candidate. His campaign centred on the theory that the Muslims were disenchanted with the BSP because of its alliance with the BJP. But the Muslim voters wholeheartedly supported her party, which wrested the seat from the SP.

Ms. Mayawati warned the SP to refrain from "communalising" the situation in the State. On the State Government's decision to reverse the policy of reservation within reservation implemented by the former Chief Minister, Rajnath Singh, she said her Government was in favour of the policy and would contest the case in the Supreme Court.

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