By TCN Special Correspondent,
Lucknow: Former MP Shahid Siddiqui who had recently interviewed Gujarat CM Narendra Modi for his Urdu weekly Nai Duniya paid the price as his Samajwadi Party (SP) broke all relations with him on Saturday. Interestingly party’s national spokesperson Ramgopal Yadav who is also brother of Mulayam Singh Yadav claimed that Shahid was never a member of the party.
“Samajwadi Party wants to clarify that Shahid Siddiqui had long ago left the party and joined BSP. He contested last Lok Sabha election on BSP ticket from Bijnaur, then he had joined Lok Dal,” said Ram Gopal Yadav in his statement Saturday morning.
SP has also issued orders that no other person barring Mulayam (national president), Ramgopal (national spokesperson), Akhilesh (UP president of party and CM) and Rajendra Choudhary (UP spokesperson) will interact with media. The party said only their statements will be considered party’s statement.
Shahid had published Modi’s interview and defended it stating that he is a journalist and has all the liberty to interact with other leaders. However, party did not take it lightly. Shahid also owing to his connections was always present on TV shows participating as SP leader. He held no post in the party.
In his release Prof Ramgopal Yadav stated that Shahid is not a member of the party and thus the media should not present him as SP leader. “He has no relations with SP as he has left it long before,” said Ramgopal.
However for records, Shahid had joined the SP at Lucknow in presence of Mulayam Singh, Azam Khan, Akhilesh Yadav on January 8, 2012. He, however, is known for changing parties in the past. He has been in the Congress then SP and became Rajya Sabha MP in 2002 and then he left for BSP on whose ticket he unsuccessfully contested parliamentary election from Bijnaur in 2009 and then joined RLD in 2010 and then finally SP in 2012.
Modi, in the interview published in the latest issue of Nai Duniya, said if he is guilty for the Gujarat riots 2002, he should be hanged. The tone and tenor he used in the interview clearly points to his move to gain sympathy before the Assembly elections this year and Lok Sabha polls in 2012.
People in the Urdu media have questioned the timing and purpose of Shahid Siddiqui to interview Modi on riots, 10 years after the bloody events took place.