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Samajwadi Party leaders in the eye of storm

According to political pundits, there is a method to the daily dose of controversial statements emanating from members of the Samajwadi Party (SP), either by party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav or its senior leaders Azam Khan and Abu Azmi.

Following the Muzaffarnagar riots last year, the party’s strong support among the Muslim electorate in Uttar Pradesh has eroded substantially. Similarly, the lack of enthusiasm on job reservations for the Jats is supposed to have hit the party’s popularity in that community as well. Therefore, Samajwadi Party leaders are said to be issuing statements that appease to stereotypes of their disaffected supporters’ communal and sexist predilections.

The SP’s slew of outrageous remarks began when the erstwhile SP leader Imran Masood (who subsequently joined the Congress Party), issued highly incendiary statements against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in late 2013. This was followed by comments by party leader Azam Khan who claimed that the “peaks of Kargil were conquered not by Hindu, but Muslim soldiers (of the Indian Army).” On Friday, the controversial SP leader claimed that three members of the Nehru family — Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi — were punished by God.

In another shocker, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav had on Thursday questioned the Supreme Court’s death sentence in the Shakti Mills gang rape case. He reportedly stated: “Boys do make such mistakes but that does not mean that they should be sent to the gallows.” He went further to state: “If a boy and girl have differences, the girl (sometimes) goes and gives a statement that I have been raped, then the poor fellow is punished.” He went further and pledged: “We will ensure punishment of those who report false cases (when we come to power).”

Taking cue from his party leader on Friday, SP’s Maharashtra leader Abu Azmi reportedly told a Mumbai tabloid: “If a woman is caught (in a rape case), then both she and the boy should be punished. In India, there is death penalty for rape, but when there’s consensual sex outside marriage, there’s no death penalty against women.”

These remarks by Samajwadi party leaders have raised a furor in the country. The Election Commission has banned Azam Khan along with BJP leader Amit Shah from speaking in election rallies. Imran Masood, the now Lok Sabha candidate from the Congress Party, has been sent to jail for 14 days for his hate speech. Meanwhile, the Bollywood twitterati is abuzz with condemnation of remarks made by Mulayam Singh Yadav and Abu Azmi. Reacting to Mulayam Singh Yadav’s “insensitive remarks” on “boys do make mistakes,” noted Hindi film actress Vidya Balan tweeted: “Capital punishment is a very contentious issue but it is the worst of crimes that should not be pardoned. I completely disagree with anyone who says that boys will be boys and they will make mistakes.” Another Bollywood heroine Dia Mirza called Yadav’s statement appalling and stated, “When I hear comments like this, I don’t know how to react as a woman, how to react as a human being.”

But the film industry took particular exception to Abu Azmi’s remarks for going too far in endorsing Yadav’s statement. Ayesha Takia, former actress and daughter-in-law of Mr. Azmi, tweeted: “if what I’m reading about my father-in-law’s statements is true then me and Farhan (her husband) are deeply embarrassed and ashamed.”

Actor and director Farhan Akhtar also clearly expressed his disapproval: “Cannot get over MS Yadav’s comment on rapists ‘Boys will be boys … They make mistakes.’ It’s pathetic! Abu Azmi meanwhile, wants to hang women … I think he needs to hang up his boots and seek medical attention ASAP.” — news@khaleejtimes.com