Bukhari and Azam Khan differ on MLC seats for Muslims-India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

The ongoing war of words between Jama Masjid's Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari and Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan escalated on Wednesday with the former demanding three out of eight MLC seats for Muslims. Bukhari has also cancelled his meeting with SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, which was going to take place on Wednesday in Lucknow. Azam Khan had earlier on Tuesday hit out at Bukhari after the controversy of him seeking a Parliament ticket for his relatives. "Now Imam Bukhari is saying that he does not want to prolong this controversy. But I never started this. Yes I admit that I got emotional and tried to control the damage this unnecessary controversy was causing to the image of the government and the party," said Khan. "Although that may not be my job and I may have crossed the line, but if someone uses bad words for us then being an independent Indian I have the right to register my protest," he added. Continuing his verbal tirade against Bukhari, the senior SP leader said that he was unaffected by denigration and that his electoral performance showed his critics in poor light. "I did not show any anger even after the kind of words Imam Bukhari had used for me because he has been doing this for a long time now. Infact there are many like him. I am only concerned about how the people of my state rate me. This time the mandate the people of my constituency have given to me is a point of contemplation for my detractors," said Khan. "I don't care what others have to say about me, it only shows the kind of upbringing and values they have had," he added. Triggering a fierce political storm, Bukhari had demanded a seat in the Rajya Sabha for his brother Yahya and a state cabinet berth for his son-in-law Umer Ali. Mulayam Singh Yadav had, however, earlier rejected Bukhari's request.

Bukhari cancels meeting with Mulayam, demands three MLC seats for Muslims