Lucknow: Senior Samajwadi Party leader Saleem Sherwani on Sunday resigned as the party's national general secretary post, stating that the Muslims were feeling neglected and were steadily losing faith in the party. However, the five-time MP would continue to remain a member of the party.
It seems that all is not well within the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh as senior party officials continue to resign just months before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. This development follows days after Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Swami Prasad Maurya submitted his resignation from the position of general secretary within the party.
'Muslims are losing faith in SP'
In the letter addressed to party chief Akhilesh Yadav, he said that Muslims are feeling continuously neglected, and no Muslim was sent to the Rajya Sabha elections either. The SP leader said that Muslims are in search of a true leader, and I believe that while being in the Samajwadi Party, he cannot bring much change in the condition of Muslims.
Salim Sherwani said, "I have been consistently discussing the situation of Muslims with you for some time now. I have always tried to convey that Muslims are feeling neglected and are continuously losing their faith in the party. There is a growing distance between them and the party, and they are in search of a true leader. The party should not underestimate their support. The sentiment among Muslims is increasing that no one in the secular platform is willing to address their legitimate issues."
"I have repeatedly requested a Rajya Sabha seat for the Muslim community according to the party's tradition. Although my name was not considered, there was not a single Muslim candidate among the candidates announced by the party. The way you have distributed tickets for the Rajya Sabha shows that you yourself do not give importance to the PDA. This raises the question of how you are different from the BJP."
'Opposition not fighting against ruling party but amongst themselves'
"The attempt to form a strong opposition alliance is proving to be futile. No one seems to take it seriously. It appears that the opposition is more interested in fighting each other rather than combating the wrong policies of the ruling party. Now, secularism has become a facade. In India, especially in Uttar Pradesh, Muslims have never demanded anything beyond their rights to live with equality, dignity, and security. However, this demand also seems significant to the party. The party has no response to our demand. Therefore, I believe that with my current situation in the Samajwadi Party, I cannot bring any change to the situation of my community," he added.
On resigning from the post, Saleem Sherwani said, "This (my separation from the party) did not happen today. This happened when the member's name for the Rajya Sabha election was announced...I thought that the topic, the issue on which we are fighting elections, our party is not at all following that motto, so why should we remain in the party...No one is serious about the INDIA alliance... The motive with which the INDIA alliance was formed is not being fulfilled."
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