Samajwadi Party veteran and 4-time MP joins AIMIM, vows to show 'his power' to Mulayam Singh Yadav

SAMBHAL: In a move that has caused a vertical split in the ranks of the Samajwadi Party in the region, veteran leader and four-time Lok Sabha member Shafiqur Rahman Barq on Saturday announced that he and his grandson Ziaur Rahman Barq have joined the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) of Asaduddin Owaisi. Barq had expressed displeasure at his grandson being denied the ticket for Sambhal assembly seat, which had instead been given to five-term SP MLA and state cabinet minister Iqbal Mehmood.On Saturday, Barq, a prominent leader of Turk Muslims in the region, announced that his grandson Ziaur Rahman Barq will contest from Sambhal seat on an AIMIM ticket against SP candidate Iqbal Mehmood, triggering mass defection from SP ranks and a crisis in the party in the region.
Speaking with TOI, Barq, who has also been a four-term MLA and was a minister in the state government in 1991, said, “I was in Lucknow recently where I was assured by SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav as well as chief minister Akhilesh Yadav that my grandson will be given the party ticket from Sambhal. But eventually, the name of Iqbal Mehmood was announced. I have now decided to show my power to MSY on all the seats of Moradabad. I will extensively campaign for all candidates of AIMIM in the region and expose the scams committed during the SP rule.”
The 86-year-old leader, who lost the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Sambhal, said, “I lost the polls because of the Sambhal MLA (Mehmood). Despite my complaints to Mulayam Singh Yadav, he was awarded with a cabinet berth. I was one of the founding members of SP, but they have always given me a raw deal.”
Recently, Barq had called a meeting of all his supporters from all the seats in the region and told them about his decision to quit the SP. He appealed to the people to ensure that the SP candidates in Moradabad region bite the dust in the upcoming polls. Many other SP supporters led by Musheer Chowdhry also joined AIMIM later at Barq’s house. The former MP is set to file his nomination papers on January 25.
In May 2013, Barq had stirred a national controversy when he walked out of the Lok Sabha when the Vande Matram national song tune was being played with all other members standing in silence. When the matter was brought to the notice of then Speaker Meira Kumar, who issued a warning to him, he struck a defiant note saying he could not sing the song in view of his religious belief. Asked in a TV interview later how other Muslim MPs were present during the song, Barq parried the query saying that was a different matter but he couldn't do the same. The BJP was quick to launch an offensive, calling Barq's walkout "Taliban-like conduct", adding that such leaders did not have the right to be parliamentarians or even citizens of the country.