Mulayam apologises to Muslims over Kalyan

LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday apologised to Muslims for aligning with former BJP leader Kalyan Singh, under whose watch the Babri mosque in Ayodhya was demolished on December 6, 1992.

Yadav, in a press release, said, “As the Chief Minister in 1990 I had done everything to protect the mosque. But in 1992, under the then regime (of Chief Minister Kalyan Singh) the communal forces had succeeded in bringing down the mosque. The Chief Minister was even punished by the court.”

“However, prior to the 2009 Lok Sabha elections I had taken support of certain people to defeat the communal forces, but I must confess that it was a big blunder on my part to have joined hands with the people who were responsible for the demolition of the Babri mosque,” Yadav said.

“My decision had hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community and I had even apologised for the same. I promise that I would never ever do anything that could hurt the sentiments of the community again and they should rest assured that protection of their interests would be supreme for the Samajwadi Party,” he said, in an obvious bid to win back his eroded Muslim support base.

Mulayam and Kalyan had joined forces on the eve of the last parliamentary polls in 2009, but broke up soon after the poll outcome proved the alliance futile.

Incidentally, Yadav chose to avoid mentioning the name of Kalyan in his press release.

On his part, Kalyan, speaking to media persons over phone from Aligarh, called Yadav a traitor and a opportunist, adding that the SP could never return to power as Muslims and the backward classes had drifted away from it.

He said, “During the Lok Sabha polls, Yadav wanted to take my support.

Though my friends cautioned me against him but I accepted his friendship keeping in mind interest of backward classes.”

Kalyan said Yadav always played with the sentiments of crores of Hindus and adopted Muslim appeasement policy to use the community as a vote bank only.

Meanwhile, former SP leader Azam Khan of Rampur told media persons that Muslims should not rush to accept Yadav’s apology.

“They must first see  whether the apology is just a political statement or he actually means it.”

Khan had parted ways with Yadav over the latter’s friendship with Kalyan Singh.

‘Mulayam’s statement a gimmick’

PTI adds from Lucknow: UP Chief Minister Mayawati criticised Mulayam’s changed stance. “Mulayam’s statement is ludicrous and a political stunt. It’s height of political opportunism. Such a person should not be trusted by anyone,” she said.

“Mulayam has had a long history of association with communal forces and Muslim community would never forget it,” she said.

State Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi dubbed Mulayam’s move as an attempt to woo the Muslim community ahead of 2012 Assembly polls.

“The apology of Mulayam will not serve any purpose now as people have understood what he and his party is,” Joshi said.