Aligarh: Shahi Imam of Delhi`s Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari on Thursday termed Samajwadi Party government as "anti-Muslims" saying the party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav rode to power on the shoulders of Muslim community only to abandon them.
On a private visit here, Bukhari told PTI, "Mulayam Singh Yadav rode to power on the shoulders of the Muslim community and today he has completely abandoned the community in the state."
The cleric, who had appealed the Muslim community to vote for SP during the UP polls, alleged that the party`s call for providing reservation to Muslims was a "crude political stunt", which has no substance whatsoever.
Having earlier capitalised on the "Muslim card", Yadav is now playing the "Hindu card" by attempting to whip up support of the upper castes by opposing the recent bill for quota in promotions in government jobs, the fire-brand cleric claimed.
"If India is to progress then the practice of Hindu card or Muslim card has to end and all sections should be meted out equal justice," he stressed.
On Akhilesh Yadav government`s record on the issue of maintaining communal amity in the state, he said it was "dismal".
If a high-power inquiry is ordered into the recent communal riots in UP, especially in Faizabad, Ghaziabad and Pratapgarh, all the skeletons in the SP`s cupboard will come tumbling out, Bukhari alleged. "That is why no enquiry is being ordered into these incidents," he said.
Bukhari said that instead of offering sops to riot affected Muslims, Yadav should ensure that "true justice is meted out both to the victims and the perpetrators of all communal violence".
He claimed that when communal tension was building up in Faizabad, "I tried in vain to contact top officials in the state government but no one bothered even to respond to my calls".
The `Shahi Imam` said that a large number of portfolios had been given to some Muslim ministers in the Akhilesh Yadav government merely "to keep their mouth shut on all issues pertaining to minorities."
"I would have preferred if able and efficient people, of
any community, had been given these departments so that justice had been dispensed to all sections of the people," he said.
"Yadav claims to be a messiah of Muslims and that`s why there is not a single Muslim district magistrate in the entire Uttar Pradesh today," he said.
On the issue of recent rise in attacks on women, Bukhari said, "I want to make it clear that the issue of providing security and safety to women in India can only be achieved if our response to such incidents is not coloured by differences of religion, caste or social status.
"If a victim belongs to an underprivileged section of society or of a minority community, then she should be treated at par with victims of privileged sections of society."
In reply to a question on some Muslims supporting Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the recent Assembly polls, Bukhari responded, "It would be naive to assume that Muslims including those in Gujarat are in the process of forgiving and forgetting Modi`s role in the Gujarat riots. In every community there are some black sheep who look at their own narrow selfish interests instead of addressing the concerns of the community or the society."
Bukhari said, "Modi`s attempts for presenting a new face before the Muslims will never succeed because the taint of the Gujarat riots is never going to wash away. His approach towards Muslims is today just what it was ten years ago and there is no change in his anti-Muslim stance.
PTI
