Mulayam cheated Muslims, time to teach Samjawadi Party a lesson: Shahi Imam

Rampur: As the ongoing family feud in Uttar Pradesh's first family intensifies, Syed Ahmad Bukhari, the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, has urged the Muslims to come together to teach a lesson to the ruling Samajwadi Party led by Mulayam Singh Yadav, who is locked in a bitter power struggle with his son and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.  

Muslim voters in Uttar Pradesh should stop thinking about Samajwadi Party and its leaders as the time has come for the community to consider another option, said Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid was quoted as saying by the Time of India.

Bukhari, who had openly supported the party and even shared the dais with Mulayam Singh Yadav during the 2012 assembly polls, accused the party of cheating the Muslims.

SP supported BJP in forming a government at the Centre. Only five MPs from Mulayam Singh Yadav's family were sent to the Lok Sabha back then, the Shahi Imam said.

The SP leaders have failed to address the issues related to the Muslim community, which they promised in their 2012 manifesto, Bukhari said.

"Muslims should teach the warring factions within SP a lesson in the upcoming Assembly polls for cheating them. The community should look for an option and not let the leaders take them for granted," he added.

Bukhari further alleged that the party did not fulfill its promise of providing 18% reservation to the community.

The Shahi Imam also claimed that a total of 113 communal incidents took place in UP in just one year of the SP regime and curfew had to be clamped at 13 places. 

Besides, the Shahi Imam alleged, Muslims were not given adequate participation in administrative posts in the state.