By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: This will of course, be first of its kind in the history of Anna Hazare’s indefinite fast against corruption and might come as completely unexpected, not only for the Muslim residents but also for Team Anna. Asif Md. Khan, an MLA from Okhla, a Muslim dominated area in the capital city of India, has resigned from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), in favor of Hazare’s campaign for the Jan Lokpal.
Talking to TwoCircles.net Khan said, “This is my conscious and independent decision to choose Anna over party. This is a protest against the way my party chief, Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav spoke against Anna Hazare led anti-corruption movement. ”
Asif Mohammad Khan
Lalu Yadav had recently criticized Anna for questioning the legitimacy of the elected representatives and the parliament.
The resignation of Khan, who is a younger brother of the former union minister Arif Md. Khan, might provide the team Anna a visible Muslim face which it has been looking for in order to send a positive message to the minority community. Team Anna was in the look out of any Muslim mascot since they launched the movement.
Importantly, this will be the first casualty of any elected representative since Anna led anti-corruption movement started. The development is sure to provide an edge to Anna led civil society camp over the elected representatives it has been pitted against, in the ongoing debate over civil society versus parliament.
Khan also criticized Imam Bukhari for calling Anna led anti-corruption movement “anti-Muslim, and appealed from all the section of the minority community to join the “historic movement against corruption.”
Khan’s detractors say that anyways he was, and quite understandably, planning to leave RJD since its massive defeat in the Bihar assembly elections but Khan’s supporters rubbish any such claim.