Azam Khan contests Mayawati claim on Muslims

RAMPUR: Lampooning BSP Supremo Mayawati's "affection" for Muslims, Samajwadi Party leader Mohd Azam Khan today asked her to explain about her announcement claiming that Rs 175 crore have been spent on the establishment of Urdu, Arabic and Persian University.

He alleged that "there were neither functional classes nor offices worth the name to take up day-to-day matters and moreover the land allotted for the purpose was controversial".

The university, he said, "has been named after BSP's founder Kanshiram as if she considers late leader was the singular fittest person to lead Urdu, Arabic and Persian intellec".

Khan asked Mayawati to remember her promise to release those Muslim youth who were falsely branded as terrorists, nabbed and thrown behind the bars. The promise remains unimplemented even after passage of years, he added.

Khan contradicted chief minister's claim regarding constructing boundary walls to make grave yards in the state secure alleging "not a single boundary has been erected".

The chief minister's declared affection for Muslim students was a political gimmick, Azam said adding it was Mayawati who deployed bulldozers to demolish some of the Johar Urdu University's construction and restricted admissions in Rampur University.

Khan again called chief minister's claim regarding awarding of scholarships to backward students of Muslim community as unfounded and said "not a single student has so far received the benefit".

He stated "Mayawati knows well that Samajwadi Party was well set to grab power in coming elections hence she has started making false promises by financing and organisation big rallies".