Conspiracy by communal parties to defame Azamgarh: Mulayam Singh

Lucknow, Oct 17 (IANS) The war for the Muslim vote in Uttar Pradesh is hotting up. Four days after Chief Minister Mayawati declared a slew of welfare measures for the community, the Samajwadi Party Friday held a rally in Azamgarh district and said there was a 'pre-planned conspiracy' by some communal parties to defame the district.

Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, while addressing a rally in Daudpur village, said: 'The district that has shed blood in the freedom struggle of India could not be termed as a terror hub. It is a pre-planned conspiracy of some communal political parties to defame Azamgarh.'

The party's Lok Sabha MP Jaya Prada, Maharashtra party chief and Rajya Sabha MP Abu Hashmi and general secretary Amar Singh also shared these views with the residents.

'We demand an inquiry, to be headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, into the Batla House encounter (in Delhi's Jamia Nagar). Besides, the role of the police should also be scanned for framing innocent youth and blaming them for terror activities across the country,' said Jaya Prada.

Amar Singh blamed the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the 'disturbance' in the district.

'Both the BJP and BSP are communal forces working hand-in-glove to tarnish the image of a particular community and label them as anti-national. We will ensure that the image, projected by these parties, is cleared,' said Amar singh.

The location of the rally was chosen with care. Daudpur, about 270 km from here, adjoins Sanjarpur, which hit the national spotlight after over a dozen terror suspects from the area were rounded up on police claims that they were involved in the serial bombings in the country.

Besides Atif and Sajid, who were killed in a police shootout in Delhi's Jamia Nagar last month for their alleged involvement in the Sep 13 Delhi serial blasts, over a dozen other youth of the village were nabbed in connection with the blasts in Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Jaipur.

The party leaders also met family members of the terror suspects at the rally spot.

'The family members of the suspects assured the leaders that they are ready to face the bullet if their children are found gulity,' Mohammad Shahid, village head of Binapara, adjacent to Sanjarpur, told IANS on phone.

The Samajwdi Party leaders did not visit Sanjarpur and left Azamgarh after meeting the families in Daudpur, he added.

In a convention of the BSP Monday, Mayawati had stated that the entire Muslim community was being painted with the same brush of terrorism whereas those involved in such incidents were a handful of misguided youth.