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Author: Subodh Ghildiyal
Publication: The Times of India
Date: July 16, 2006
Introduction: The race for votes has brought about a rare restraint on the part of Congress and SP as both driven by the estimate that a tough stand on SIMI may not go down well with members of the minority community
Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) has emerged a great unifier for bitter political rivals Mulayam Singh Yadav and Khurshid, in what is turning out to be a reflection on the proscribed outfit's potential to influence electoral equations in the volatile state awaiting polls early next year.
Even as the controversy over Samajwadi Party chief's "clean chit" to SIMI rages, Mulayam Singh may be deriving satisfaction from the fact that Congress will be forced to pull its punches. It was UPCC chief Khurshid who argued SIMI's appeal against the central ban in the Supreme Court.
The UPCC chief has defended his action, saying it has nothing to do with politics. "It was on a constitutional point that the ban under the Unlawful Activities Act can be imposed only after the decision of a tribunal and, as a lawyer, I have a right to hold a brief on a constitutional point." But political circles have not failed to notice that Khurshid, trigger-happy when it comes to attacking Mulayam, has refrained from taking on the chief minister even when governor T V Rajeshwar sent a stern message to the state government for its leniency toward the hardline organisation. When asked to comment, he said that Mulayam should not have made public pronouncements when the matter is before the tribunal.
Even Union minister of state for home S P Jaiswal, who is from UP and rarely skips an opportunity to trade barbs with Mulayam, has been conspicuous by his silence on the state government's soft stance towards SIMI. The outfit, incidentally, is quite active in Jaiswal's home city of Kanpur.
It is all adding up. While SP is angling for political dividends to accrue from favouring SBE, Congress, another aspirant for minority votes in the secular stable, has decided to exercise caution.
Analysts attribute Congress' reluctance to go after Mulayam to the calculation that attacking SP on the issue may only help it win over the hardline elements in the minority community - especially when it is faced with fear of fragmentation of its minority vote base in the wake of the formation of anti-SP Muslim fronts under two famous clerics. The same calculation explains why SP has let go of an opportunity to attack Khurshid, usually their favourite target.
The race for votes has brought about a rare restraint on the part of two of the parties which make up the bitterly fractious political spectrum of UP Both are driven by the estimate that a tough stand on SIMI may not go down well with the members of the minority community That is what pushed Yadav to seek withdrawal of criminal cases against SIMI national chief Shahid Badr Falahi and cases of rioting against SIMI state chief M Amir, and to play down its involvement in the Mumbai blasts.
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