Close on the heels of Samajwadi Party national general secretary Swami Prasad Maurya resigning over “discrimination “, the main opposition party in Uttar Pradesh suffered another setback on Sunday as senior leader Saleem Sherwani quit the post of party’s national general secretary.
“Muslims are feeling neglected and are steadily losing faith in the party,” Sherwani said in a letter addressed to party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
However, the five-time MP will continue to remain a member of the party.
It seems that all is not well within the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh as senior party office-bearers continue to resign just months before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. This development follows days after SP leader Swami Prasad Maurya submitted his resignation from the post of general secretary of the party.
In the letter addressed to party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Sherwani said that Muslims were feeling continuously neglected, and no Muslim was sent to the Rajya Sabha either.
The SP leader said that Muslims were in search of a true leader, and “I believe that while being in the Samajwadi Party, I cannot bring much change in the condition of Muslims”.
“I have been consistently discussing the situation of Muslims with you for some time now. I have always tried to convey that Muslims are feeling neglected and are continuously losing their faith in the party. There is a growing distance between them and the party, and they are in search of a true leader. The party should not underestimate their support. The sentiment among Muslims is increasing that no one in the secular platform is willing to address their legitimate issues,” Sherwani said,
“I have repeatedly requested a Rajya Sabha seat for the Muslim community according to the party’s tradition. Although my name was not considered, there was not a single Muslim candidate among the candidates announced by the party. The way you have distributed tickets for the Rajya Sabha shows that you yourself do not give importance to the PDA (Pichhada, Dalit, Alpsankhyak). This raises the question of how you are different from the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party),” he said.
“The attempt to form a strong opposition alliance is proving to be futile. No one seems to take it seriously. It appears that the opposition is more interested in fighting each other rather than combating the wrong policies of the ruling party. Now, secularism has become a facade. In India, especially in Uttar Pradesh, Muslims have never demanded anything beyond their rights to live with equality, dignity and security. However, this demand also seems significant to the party. The party has no response to our demand. Therefore, I believe that with my current situation in the Samajwadi Party, I cannot bring any change to the situation of my community,” he added.
On resigning from the post, Sherwani said, “My separation from the party did not happen today. This happened when the member’s name for the Rajya Sabha election was announced... I thought that the topic, the issue on which we are fighting elections, our party is not at all following that motto, so why should we remain in the party... No one is serious about the INDIA alliance... The motive with which the INDIA alliance was formed is not being fulfilled.”
