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Lucknow: Samajwadi Party losing base among Shia Muslims?

kalbe jawadSeveral Shia clerics boycotted the roza iftar hosted by chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday on the government’s failure to manage the sectarian violence in the old city and government’s apathy towards the community. The Shia clerics say that they have been disappointed by the SP government who claims to be the well-wisher of Muslims.

“How could we participate in an iftar party when our brothers were deeply anguished?” questioned the clerics. Imam-e-Juma and Shia cleric, Maulana Kalbe Jawwad for instance said,”We are not satisfied with the way government has acted in case of sectarian violence in Lucknow. Innocents have been arrested while the real culprits have not even been touched so far. We provided the administrative officials with the footage of riots but the evidence has been ignored,” claimed Jawwad.

Another cleric Maulana Hameedul Hasan recalled that there was a time when CM’s roza iftar was a platform to unite the Shias and Sunnis. He expressed unhappiness over the fact that it has become a political show of strength to garner votes. “Politics seems to be walking behind religious processions in the old city,” he lamented.

Spokesperson of the All-India Shia Personal Law Board, Maulana Yasoob Abbas claimed that the police cane-charged women, children and youths for resisting attack on the procession while the Samajwadi Party government remained a silent spectator. Maulana Saif Abbas, Maulana Fareedul Hasan and many other members of Shia community also did not attend the chief minister’s roza iftar.

Shia Muslims under the leadership of Maulana Kalbe Jawwad have been demanding better representation of their community members in government positions. The logic, they say, is that Shias are a minority among the Muslims and comprise about 20 per cent of the entire Muslim population in UP. But their demand remains unattended.

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