The fight for minority votes between Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) took a curious turn with BSP general secretary Nasimuddin Siddiqui blasting the ruling party for making false promises to the community and alleging a close nexus between the SP and the BJP for the 2017 Assembly polls.
Siddiqui ruled out any possibility of BSP’s post-poll alliance with the BJP in case of a fractured mandate. Reacting to charges of CM Akhilesh Yadav that the BSP had a history of alliances with the BJP, Siddiqui clarified that his party formed governments with the BJP thrice but never compromised with its ideology especially on Muslims.
“The SP claims to be the mssiah of Muslims, but they compromised several times with communal forces like joining hands with former CM Kalyan Singh and Sakshi Maharaj. It also helped the BJP by creating communal disturbances in the state. The SP and the BJP are two sides of the same coin and they aid each other to stay in power by fooling people,” he said.
Addressing media persons in lucknow on Friday, the BSP leader said, “Ahead of the lok Sabha polls of 2009 and 2014, the SP promoted communal strife and the two were responsible for more than 400 communal riots in the last four years and a half. When the BSP was in power in UP, the BJP won nine seats in 2009 Parliament polls, but in 2014 when SP was at helm, the BJP swept a record 73 seats,” Siddiqui said.
Further attacking the SP, he alleged that the present dispensation bulldozed camps of Muzaffarnagar riot victims in several districts of west UP.
“The SP did not give reservation as promised to Muslims while not a single Muslim youth framed in terror case was freed. In fact, the SP is responsible for the death of one such youth Khalid Mujaheed in custody,” he said.
Siddiqui however refused to comment on sensitive issues like Triple Talaq and Uniform Civil Code and said, “BSP chief Mayawati will give the official version on the matter.”