Syed Ahmad Bukhari snaps ties with Samajwadi Party

Sweet to sour Imam says promises made to Muslims unfulfilled.

As Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav completed his first year in office, the bonhomie between the ruling Samajwadi Party and Syed Ahmad Bukhari, Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid, ended on Friday with Bukhari saying he had severed all relations with the party and had conveyed this to SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav in a letter.

"My relationship with the SP is over. Mulayam tried to manage things by sending a messenger last night, but they have miserably failed to fulfil their promises to Muslims," Bukhari told The Indian Express.

He said he would lead an "open revolt'' against Mulayam and his party. "We are organising a big congregation of Muslims in Etawah (the native district of Mulayam) on April 21. Muslims have invited me there and I will share my bad experience with Mulayam," he said.

Bukhari added that his candidates who were given positions by the SP would resign. "Waseem Ahmad has already dispatched his resignation to Mulayam. I have also asked my son-in-law Umar Ali Khan, who is an MLC, to resign," Bukhari said.

Asked about his resignation, Umar Ali Khan said, "I am going to Delhi and will consult Imam Sahib about my resignation. Whatever he says will be done." Waseem was recently removed as chairman of the UP Pollution Control Board and appointed chairman of the Civil Defence Council, which is a far less important post, although it has the same status of minister of state.

Bukhari stated that the promises of reservation for Muslims, appointment of Muslim officers in important positions and release of innocent Muslims implicated in fake charges had remained unfulfilled by the SP government. Also, "The Akhilesh Yadav government did not go for appeal against Varun Gandhi's acquittal," he said.

The Imam said Mulayam sent an emissary yesterday who "gave me all assurances but there was no fulfilment of previous promises. Muslims had voted overwhelmingly for Mulayam and now they feel cheated," he claimed. "After getting an absolute majority there were no hindrances for them to fulfil their commitments. Now I realise it is better to have a weak government which listens to you," Bukhari said.

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