Erosion in Muslim vote bank worries Mulayam

APPEARING QUITE worried about the dent likely in the vast Muslim support base, Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday blasted senior Muslim Samajwadi Party leaders for carrying out a campaign against the government on Muslims issues.  The chief minister also announced that the first instalment of unemployment allowance in Lucknow division would be distributed on June 16.

Addressing a conference of SP zila panchayat chairmen, members and block chiefs here, Yadav said the government had done a lot for the Muslim community but responsible party leaders had played down the work, making it appear that the government had done nothing at all. He pointed out that the advocate general and chairmen of higher education commission and subordinate service commission were from the minority community.

While Urban Development Minister Azam Khan had recently expressed resentment over delay in appointment of Urdu teachers, the chief minister said process for appointment of 5,000 teachers would commence from May 28.

Yadav called upon the party workers to apprise  the Muslim community about the welfare measures taken by the government and lamented that a conspiracy had been hatched against him among the community.

Asking the party leaders to shake off their inferiority complex and regain confidence to take up rivals, Yadav said the Congress, BJP and BSP had ganged up against the SP and now a ‘morcha’ (Raj Babbar-led Jan Morcha) was also to hold a rally on May 30. The next assembly elections were extremely significant for the party and there should be united efforts to come back to power. He said within one month, the party’s image should be improved and instead of being defensive, the workers should be on the offensive against rival parties.

Craving for power and money among SP leaders indicated that the party was going the Congress way. “It will ruin the party”, Yadav commented. He said the party leaders had failed to popularise the achievements of the government.

Yadav also deplored the ‘gun culture’ in the party and said moving around with rifles would only send wrong signals to the people.

Laying stress on “gandi rajniti band karo (stop dirty politics), Yadav told the leaders to improve their image.