No decision on pact with SP: QED chief

Lucknow: Maintaining status quo vis-à-vis the Samajwadi Party, Quami Ekta Dal chief Afzal Ansari (brother of mafia don turned politician Mukhtar Ansari) on Sunday said the party has yet to take a stand on its electoral relationship with the ruling party in the state.
Speaking to TOI here, Afzal said, "The QED has yet to take a final decision on whether it will go for a tie-up with Samajwadi Party or not." Afzal was undergoing treatment for illness at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi and was discharged from on Saturday.
On August 29, speculations over an SP-QED pact had gained momentum after QED MLAs mafia-turned politicians Mukhtar and his brother QED MLA from Mohammadabad (Ghazipur) Sibagtullah met senior SP leader and cabinet minister Azam Khan. But the QED MLAs had said they met Azam only to discuss issues pertaining to the constituency and that the meeting had nothing to do with any political tie-up.
"Let's presume there is a merger. Is it a cardinal sin to meet someone or talk about merger? (Maan lijiye vilay ho raha hai. Kya who koi gunaah hai? Kya baat karna gunaah hai?)" Sibagtullah had told TOI. "Many people are meeting Mulayam and Shivpal almost everyday, then why are we selectively targeted?," questioned Sibagtullah.
The Mohammadabad MLA had then denied QED leaders meeting Mulayam Singh Yadav. "The fact of the matter is that QED president Afzal Ansari is admitted in AIIMS New Delhi for the past 10 days and is undergoing treatment," Sibagtullah said.
"I and Mukhtar had an interaction with SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav during the inauguration of a gallery of portraits of former CMs in UP assembly and it was mere duaa-salaam," said Sibagtullah. "Our meeting with (PWD minister) Shivpal Yadav was to discuss the flood scene and it was construed as merger talks. There is a political conspiracy to tarnish our imageand brand us as political turncoats" he said.