Interview: Not much choice left for Muslims - Alvi

It is a time of political migration as well as of emigration - read expulsions. Pundits call it the 'fluid situation'. One of the emigrants, that is an expelled member, is Rashid Alvi, the face and voice of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the last Lok Sabha.

Within 15 minutes of his statement that BSP supremo Mayawati is toeing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) line and that she is 'auctioning' the elections tickets, he was expelled from the party.

Alvi won a name for himself in the Lok Sabha three years ago when he attacked the government for showing undue favours to Reliance, the largest business house in the country. The lawyer from Uttar Pradesh donned the role of the brave small citizen confronting the corporate giant.

His attack did not in any way dent the credibility of Reliance, but Alvi became a voice to reckon with in the House. And Maywati seemed to find him useful because he stood up to defend her, especially after she stepped down as Uttar Pradesh chief minister because of the Taj corridor controversy.

A free man now, Alvi in an interview with Gulf News talks about his disillusionment with Mayawati, and also about the political dilemma of Muslims, especially in Uttar Pradesh. He is not willing to reveal his future plans – will he join the Congress, or the BJP. He says that he is consulting his friends and supporters before he would make his decision. Excerpts from the interview:

GULF NEWS: Was it a sudden break-up, or was trouble brewing for some time?
RASHID ALVI: It did not happen suddenly. For a very long time I was hoping that things would change. Actually, trouble began even at the time of the last UP assembly elections. She was selling the party tickets. She was also politically inconsistent. In the last parliamentary elections, she said that the BSP would not support the BJP. But she went back on her word. It is now apparent that she is playing to the BJP tune. Then she went and campaigned for the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat assembly elections in December 2002.

Why did you take such a long time to realise that she was going the BJP way?
We hoped that she would correct her course. She is a Dalit leader, a community that has been oppressed for centuries. We did not want to abandon her for her first mistake. Even at the time of the Taj corridor case, I had hoped that she would emerge like a bright diamond after the trial and tribulation. But that has not happened.

How did the Dalit-Muslim coalition work in Uttar Pradesh?
It has worked well. But Mayawati's pro-BJP politics has made it impossible for it to continue.

What are the options before the Muslims in Uttar Pradesh?
Realistically speaking, there is not much of a choice left for the Muslims.

With Arif Mohammed Khan joining the BJP, does it mean that there is a possibility of other Muslims going towards the BJP?
It is impossible. How can Muslims trust the BJP after the Gujarat killings? Arif Mohammed Khan's time as a leader has passed. He is not in a position to transfer Muslim votes to the BJP. He is not just for an alignment with the BJP. He is keen on friendship with the Sangh Parivar – the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He is displaying the zeal of a new convert.

What are the options you are considering? Will you be joining the Congress?
I have not yet decided. I am consulting my friends and supporters. I will take a decision only after talking to them.