Author: Atiq Khan
Publication: The Hindu
Date: May 10, 2009
URL: http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/10/stories/2009051057030100.htm
"Mohammad Azam Khan is working against
the party"
Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh on
Saturday accused his estranged party colleague, Mohammad Azam Khan, of indulging
in anti-party activity aimed at harming its prospects in the crucial Lok Sabha
election from Rampur.
Mr. Mulayam Singh made it clear that the party
stood solidly behind its candidate Jayaprada and general secretary Amar Singh.
This was the first time the former Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister went public on his senior colleague's acts of defiance. He
did this in Rampur, Mr. Khan's pocket borough, addressing an election rally
in support of Ms. Jayaprada.
Mr. Khan has been opposing Ms. Jayaprada's
candidature from Rampur. Polling here is to take place in the last phase of
the elections on May 13.
The Samajwadi chief said that in 2004 it was
Mr. Khan who prevailed upon him to field Jayaprada from Rampur, "though
I was reluctant". After Mr. Khan assured him that the Congress candidate
would lose, he had finalised Ms. Jayaprada's candidature from Rampur.
Wanting to know why Mr. Khan was opposing
her now, Mr. Mulayam Singh said that if there were any differences he should
have met Ms. Jayaprada to sort them out. "Women are very soft-hearted,"
the SP chief remarked.
He slammed Mr. Khan for opposing a candidate
approved by the party. "Mr. Khan has said he is a founder-member of the
party but has anyone heard of someone cutting the tree grown by the gardener
himself?" Mr. Mulayam Singh asked.
The Rampur rally was attended by Rajya Sabha
MP Jaya Bachchan and the party's Maharashtra unit chief Abu Aasim Azmi. Mr.
Khan stayed away. Mr. Amar Singh was away campaigning in the Kheri parliamentary
constituency.
Mr. Mulayam Singh indicated that his colleague's
days in the party were numbered.
Khan's reaction
The estranged leader, who remained incommunicado
for most of the day, broke his silence in the evening. He told journalists
that he was dismayed by Mr. Mulayam Singh's statement.
Mr. Khan said his association with Mr. Mulayam
Singh spanned 25 years, and he was a founder-member of the party.
"It seems he has sacrificed an old friendship
for the sake of new friends."
Describing the SP president as a nice person,
Mr. Khan said Jayaprada was not the issue. His opposition was to the alliance
with Kalyan Singh. Mr. Khan said there was no place for the former BJP leader
in the SP; Muslims would never forget the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
Sorry, says Amar Singh
PTI adds: Seeking to bury the hatchet a day
after firing salvos against Azam Khan, Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar
Singh on Saturday expressed regret for his action saying he had been overpowered
by emotions.
"I feel sorry for what I uttered publicly
in Rampur, ignoring the instructions of the party president Mulayam Singh
Yadav, who had advised me to maintain silence over the issue," said Mr.
Amar Singh.
"Emotions overpowered me when I watched
a woman being humiliated, my party leaders being insulted and myself facing
threats in Rampur," he said in an obvious reference to Mr. Khan's criticism
of Ms. Jayaprada.
Mr. Amar Singh said he was disturbed and could
not control his emotions at that point of time. "All this disturbed me
emotionally to such an extent that I could not control myself and spoke out
my agony in public. I am sorry to the party president Mulayam Singh particularly
when the Lok Sabha polls are in the final phase," he said.
