After criticising SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav for meeting VHP leaders, UP minister Azam Khan did just that himself. The minister on Thursday met Mahamandaleshwar Swami Kailashanand Brahamchari, the seer of Dakshin Kali Temple in Hardwar for undisclosed reasons.
After the meeting, Mr Azam Khan termed the VHP’s 84-kosi yatra as politically motivated and justified UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s decision to ban the proposed yatra.
He said that the intelligence agencies had warned that the proposed yatra could disturb communal harmony and create a law and order problem in UP.
The minister alleged that there was an attempt to create a “Gujarat-like atmosphere” in Uttar Pradesh and ensure polarisation on communal lines.
Mr Khan refused to divulge the reasons for meeting the seer and maintained a stiff silence when reminded that he had said that the meeting between Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and the VHP leaders would send a wrong message to the minority community.
Meanwhile, speculations are rife about the possible reasons for the meeting between Mr Khan and the seer since this is the first time that he has shared the stage with a saffron leader.
Mr Khan, all through his career, has studiously avoided being seen in the same frame with any Hindu leader but Thursday’s meeting with the seer has left his supporters and followers stumped.