Bukhari, Azam spat gets murky

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CPI(M) delegates dance to a tribal song at the party’s 20th congress in Kozhikode, Kerala, on Saturday. — PTI

Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav is caught in an embarrassing situation as the spat between Shahi Imam Syed Ahmad Bukhari and senior SP minister Azam Khan takes a murky turn.
The Shahi Imam, who had returned the Samajwadi ticket to Vidhan Parishad for his son-in-law Umar Khan on Friday, was accused of being selfish and a “trader of Muslim votes” by the SP minister on Saturday.
“The Shahi Imam now says that the Samajwadi Party is not working in interests of Muslims merely because the party did not give his brother a Rajya Sabha ticket and did not bestow a ministerial post on his son-in-law. If the Shahi Imam is so influential among Muslims, he should have ensured that his son-in-law did not lose his deposit when he contested the Behat seat in Saharanpur,” Mr Khan told reporters.
The Shahi Imam, on the other hand, termed Azam Khan as anti-Muslim and said that he was “hated” by Muslims, particularly in Rampur.
The newly-elected Samajwadi Party MP (Rajya Sabha), Munawwar Saleem also jumped into the controversy by saying that for the Shahi Imam, “Muslim welfare was restricted to the welfare of his own family members.”
While the two leaders bickered in the presence of the media, the Samajwadi Party leadership tried to downplay the episode by saying that Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav would have the final word on the issue.
“Azam Khan is a senior party leader and the Shahi Imam is a respected leader. This is a family matter and we will settle it soon. Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav will soon iron out the differences,” said Mr Shivpal Singh Yadav on Saturday.