To strengthen shaky wicket of alliance, Azhar shares stage with Mamata

To strengthen the shaky wicket of the Congress-Trinamool alliance, former India skipper Md Azharuddin — who is also the Congress MP from Moradabad — appeared at a rally in Esplanade with Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee.

The rally was organised by Taha Siddiqui, the "Peerzada" of Furfura Sharif — a religious order in Hooghly district. Both parties batted for minorities, with Azhar pointing out that the Left Front has been working against the interests of Muslims in the state.

"I usually used to bat fourth in an innings in my cricketing life, but here I am asked to bat last," said Azharuddin ¿ referring to his turn as the last speaker in the rally — "but I would like to say that you must vote out the Left Front from Bengal."

Muslims have got only two per cent of the jobs in the state and even their land is being taken away. "So you should vote the government out of power," he declared.

In her turn, the Trinamool chief talked of the trains she has started from Kolkata to Ajmer Sharif and the proposed railway line from Dankuni to Furfura Sharif.

"This reservation for OBC Muslims is a hollow move of the Left Front government, it is just one of the several lies they speak everyday," Mamata said.

Accusing the CPM of stirring communal passions ahead of every election, she appealed to the audience to not fall victim to such instigations.

"None shall be able to protest or generate a resistance against the government," she said. "If you oppose the Left Front government, you are automatically a Maoist... A section of the police has been given the instructions to brand every protestor a Maoist."

Other Trinamool leaders like Sultan Ahmed and Idris Ali and state Congress president Manas Bhuniya were also present at the rally.

... contd.

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