Akhilesh should take bold steps to reach out to minorities: Abu Asim Azmi

Interview with President, Samajwadi Party, Maharashtra

The Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh has been severely criticised, including from within its senior ranks, for its handling of the  recent communal riots in Muzaffarnagar. Abu Asim Azmi, member of the party’s national executive and head of its Maharashtra unit, tells Sanjay Jog what needs to be done now. Edited excerpts:

Has the Akhilesh Yadav government failed to handle the Muzaffarnagar riots?

Lack of proper communication between the police department and the government aggravated the situation. Some key inputs were not communicated to the chief minister. Ironically, the police department has become communal.  Had the intelligence inputs been passed on in time, the situation could have been handled in a much better way. All our good deeds have been washed away by these riots.

On the other hand, the BSP, BJP and Congress are bent on destabilising the Akhilesh Yadav-led government in Uttar Pradesh. These parties, in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections, are making all efforts to create a communal divide. They want that Muslims and other minorities desert from the SP. However, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh will foil all these attempts, as they are determined to maintain harmony between Hindu and Muslim communities.

You’d said Mulayam Singh could have used an iron hand to firmly deal with the situation. What further do you have to say?

Mulayam Singh Yadav did all the possible things to maintain the secular credentials of his government in the 1990s. He did not hesitate to order firing to avoid a deterioration of law and order. Netaji continues to enjoy the respect and affection of minorities; at the same time, he is quite popular among the Hindu community. I strongly feel Akhilesh should take bold steps to avoid any more communal riots.  Similarly, Akhilesh should focus on the protection of minorities, their religious places and infuse confidence, instead of concentrating on implementation of the party's manifesto with regard to the distribution of laptops and various development schemes.

What should the SP do to win the confidence of minorities?

The government will pay a compensation of Rs 20 lakh to the kin of those killed in the riots and also reconstruct the houses. Mulayam Singh Yadav has already instructed the government to do so. The government will do it.

At then party’s national executive meeting, it was unanimously decided that the government and party organisation should work hand in hand to further reach out to minorities and strongly stand behind them.  The party executive also decided to ask block-level workers to step up efforts to maintain social and communal harmony.