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Bhat prevents confrontation between Hurriyat, Mulayam

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

Hurriyat Chairman Prof Abdul Gani Bhat on Tuesday prevented a confrontation between agitated members of his party and the Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav over his endorsement of the opposition stand to boycott the tea-party of Pakistan High Commissioner Ashraf Jahangir Qazi if Hurriyat leaders attended it.

Bhat made a timely intervention after party spokesman Abdul Majid Banday drafted a press release which ridiculed the Samajwadi Party chief's secular credentials.

The Hurriyat press release had made fun of Singh's secular credentials.

"It is unfortunate that Samajadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav took the stand of calling for a boycott of the Pakistan high commissioner's tea-party in case we attended it. He should not have done so," Hurriyat spokesman Banday told rediff.com.

However, a senior Hurriyat leader pointed out that such was the party leaders' disenchantment with Singh's stand against them on the Qazi tea-party issue that they contemplated appealing to the Muslim voters in Uttar Pradesh against voting for the Samajwadi Party during the assembly elections in the state.

"Our objective was to teach him (Singh) a lesson that his siding with the (Indian) government stand on the tea-party did not behove a secular leader to whom many in the minority community look up to," the Hurriyat leader pointed out.

However, getting wind of some of the Hurriyat leaders' move against Singh in this context, Prof Bhat counselled them to drop the press release because 'we don't want to get involved'.

The Hurriyat chief pointed out that the party should concentrate in meeting General Pervez Musharraf during the tea-party and 'avoid any unnecessary controversy'.

The Hurriyat leader pointed out that thereafter, the party's press release was abandoned.

He said Bhat had 'made us realise that Musharraf's acceptance of our request to meet him is far more important than squabbling on a minor issue.'

"General Musharraf's action (in inviting the Hurriyat for Qazi's tea-party) has clearly revealed that he firmly believes that any solution to the Kashmir dispute cannot come about without our participation," the Hurriyat leader pointed out.

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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