Jaunpur: Maharashtra Samajwadi Party president and MLA Abu Asim Azmi said that Indian Muslims have been reduced to “untouchables” due to the communal politics of the ruling BJP in the country. In a special conversation with ETV Bharat, Azmi, who reached Jaunpur on his first visit after the death of veteran SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, said that political parties, too, were hesitant to highlight the plight of Muslims.
“The political parties think if they talk on Muslim issues, they will lose non-Muslim votes,” he said. Azmi referred to a recent incident at Durga Puja in Ibrahimpur where he said that policemen, who were supposed to be the guardians of law and order, had issued an open threat to Muslims. “The cops told Muslims that they will be dealt with one by one," he said.
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"Such cops must be arrested and dealt with under the law,” he added. Azmi said that on way to Jaunpur, he saw Hindu rightwing elements atop trucks on the highway, who were openly threatening Muslims. “There is no law and order left in the state,” he said. Azmi said that the BJP government at the Centre was targeting a particular community even as it was misusing the probe agencies to hound the opposition.
Over Kejriwal's recent demand of printing images of Hindu deities on currency notes, Azmi said, “He should instead talk about the declining value of the rupee. The country is moving towards bankruptcy”. “The currency notes will reach both vegetable and meat shops, so Gandhiji's photo should remain on the notes,” he said.
Azmi also paid tributes to the late Mulayam Singh Yadav saying he never compromised on his principles. Azmi wanted SP chief Akhilesh Yadav to carry forward his father's legacy. He said that after Mulayam's death if the socialist thought is not carried forward “then we will suffer a great loss”.
