Lalu & Mulayam bats for SIMI

NEW DELHI: Union railway minister Lalu Yadav and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav on Wednesday batted for Simi, which the Centre described in the SC as an organisation “preparing students and youth for jihad”. The unwholesome spectacle of the two key leaders of the ruling alliance backing the dreaded outfit came hours after a special Tribunal lifted the ban on Simi. The two leaders said the ban on the organisation should not have been imposed in the first place. Mr Mulayam Singh also recollected how valiantly he had fought for “Simi’s rights” while Uttar Pradesh was under his charge. The two leading lights of the ruling side seemed least concerned about their government’s own stand that lifting of the ban would give a fillip to terror activities. The government has been maintaining that Simi has been providing logistical support to terror attacks on Mumbai local trains, Malegaon, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Ahmedabad. The determination of Mr Lalu Yadav and Mr Mulayam Singh to use Simi for their “community outreach” cannot but be discomforting for the responsible sections in the government as well as the security establishment. Their backing for Simi gave an opportunity for the Opposition to drive home its point that the government and its leadership do not have the political will to contain terror. There is already charge that there utter lack of credibility when it comes to supporting, respecting and leading the fight against terrorism. The security community is naturally appalled by the clean chit for Simi from Mr Lalu Yadav and Mr Mulayam Singh. They said the statements from the leaders only give credence to the allegation that a section of the government leadership fetishes on the rights of terrorists. The principal Opposition party, the BJP, pounced on the decision by the two Yadav chieftains to defend Simi, arguing that it showed how elements within the UPA wanted the government to adopt a soft approach on terrorism. “If leaders such as Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav come out in open support of Simi, one can only wonder about the government’s resolve to suppress terrorism,’’ BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley said here on Wednesday afternoon. The party also wondered whether the government’s decision to facilitate the lifting of the ban on Simi was part of a quid-pro-quo deal worked out with the Samajwadi Party in return for its support for the trust vote.[7 Aug, 2008, ET Bureau]