Lucknow, July 16: In a surprising development, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Mulayam Singh Yadav has apologised to Muslims for joining hands with those responsible for the demolition of the “Babri mosque” in December 1992. The reference is to BJP rebel and former Uttar Pradesh (UP) chief minister Kalyan Singh.
Lambasting her arch rival, she said Mulayam was shedding “crocodile tears” and Muslims would not be swayed by such a “political gimmick” anymore. The UP CM also pointed out that Kalyan’s son Rajbir was a cabinet minister in Mulayam’s government from 2003 to 2006.
“In fact, Mulayam and Kalyan have been together since the time both of them were ministers in the Janata Party government in UP in 1977,” Mayawati said, adding that the SP leader’s apology was “the height of political opportunism”.
Kalyan also reacted strongly, calling Mulayam an “opportunist”. He said the apology was “meaningless” and dubbed the SP chief “communal”. Speaking to reporters in Aligarh, Kalyan said, “Mulayam has always ditched his supporters after using them… he has always toed the policy of Muslim appeasement while ignoring the interests and security of crores of Hindus… his apology is nothing but drama.”
He said Mulayam managed to win 24 Lok Sabha seats because of his support “otherwise he would have been limited to 11 seats”.
Former SP leader and one-time Mulayam lieutenant Azam Khan advised Muslims to take the apology with a pinch of salt.
In a statement released to the press in Lucknow on Thursday, Mulayam said he was compelled to join hands with some “bad elements” before the 2009 Lok Sabha election to keep communal forces from wresting power at the Centre.
“Secular forces and especially Muslim brethren were hurt and misled due to this… I accept this was a big mistake on my part.
“I have already declared that in future I will never align with those responsible for the demolition of the Babri mosque… I apologise to my Muslim brethren and assure them that in future I will continue to work to uphold their honour with complete commitment,” he said.
While many would be baffled by the timing of the statement since there is no apparent trigger for it, the apology is being seen as Mulayam’s last-ditch effort to curry favour with Muslims, once his strongest supporters.
SP leaders admit Muslims virtually deserted Mulayam after he joined hands with Kalyan.
–Agencies–