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A recent statement made by Azam Khan, the SP’s Muslim community poster boy, has only added fuel to the fire. He has reminded SP workers of the “roles played by Singh and Yadav in the Ayodhya issue”. The comment has put his party in an awkward position.
Khan, however, said he had only reminded the people of “history”. “I have only reminded the people of two important dates. One was October 30, 1990, when Mulayam had assured the people of the state to safeguard the Babri Masjid — which he did. The other one was December 6, 1992, (during Kalyan Singh’s rule) when a crowd of thousands reached the Masjid and demolished it. I have only reminded the people about the two ‘heroes’ of Ayodhya — Mulayam and Kalyan.”
According to sources in the SP, Khan’s statement will dent SP’s image. A few party leaders, however, have reportedly tried to remind Khan of his days when he held the post of a minister with Singh’s support.
The leaders remember how six years ago, Singh had openly played the role of a king-maker to bring Yadav to power. Yadav’s swearing-in ceremony had witnessed the presence of Singh, RLD’s Ajit Singh, BJP’s Kusum Rai, Left’s Sitaram Yechuri and NDA coordinator George Fernandes. Along with Azam Khan, Singh’s protege Kusum Rai and his son Rajveer Singh were also given berths in the Cabinet.
BJP suspends Kalyan’s daughter-in-law
The state BJP unit suspended Atrauli MLA Premlata, who is also the daughter-in-law of former chief minister Kalyan Singh, on Saturday. Another MLA, Sunder Singh from Syana, was also suspended. According to official information, the MLAs have been suspended because they were not attending the meetings of the Vidhan Mandal Dal and were alleged to be involved in cross-voting in the recent Vidhan Parishad polls. Premlata and Sunder Singh have been asked to submit explain their conduct within a week.
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