In an obvious bid to win back his Muslim supporters, Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav on Thursday publicly tendered an apology for his political liaisons with former Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kalyan Singh.
Singh was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh when the Babri Masjid was demolished by angry karsevaks on December 6, 1992.
Without referring to Kalyan directly, Mulayam issued a personally signed press statement saying, "I must confess that it was a big blunder on my part to have joined hands with certain persons who were responsible for the demolition of the Ayodhya mosque."
Apparently, Mulayam has realised somewhat belatedly that his sudden bonhomie with Kalyan Singh on the eve of the 2007 state assembly elections had not gone down well with the party's Muslim supporters and had cost the Samajwadi Party dearly.
Attributing his decision to political expediency of that time, Mulayam said, "What had prompted me to shake hands with them was the larger objective of weakening communal forces," in an obvious reference to the BJP.
He clarified, "Since my decision has hurt the sentiments of Muslims, I wish to assure them that I will never repeat such a mistake in the future and will never have anything
to do with those responsible for the demolition of the Babri Mosque."
The Samajwadi Party chief did not let go of the opportunity to remind Muslims of how he was instrumental in 'protecting' the Babri mosque when it was stormed by violent mobs while he was the state chief minister in 1990.
"It was a pity that the mosque was pulled down on December 6, 1992 , during a BJP regime in the state," he lamented.
The public apology is also being perceived as Mulayam's attempt to get his former close confidant Azam Khan back into the party fold. Khan had left the party after Mulayam started hobnobbing with Kalyan.
Though Mulayam dumped Kalyan shortly after the outcome of the poll proved the futility of the alliance, Azam Khan refused to return to SP.
Reacting to Mulayam's move, Khan told reporters in Rampur, "I must first ascertain whether this is just a political statement or he actually means it."
