Salim Sherwani Resigns As Samajwadi Party General Secretary, Says Muslims Being Ignored By Leadership

Lucknow, February 18 (TNA) The Samajwadi Party (SP) was jolted again on Sunday as its senior party leader Salim Sherwani resigned from the post of general secretary. Sherwani is one of the SP's most soft-spoken, erudite and sophisticated leaders. The development comes close on the heels of the resignation of Swami Prasad Maurya as party general secretary.

Sherwani, in a letter to the party president Akhilesh Yadav, has charged that the party leadership had failed to reassure the Muslims of patronage and their well-being. He has stated that he is hurt by the complete sidelining of Muslims in the party fold. Sherwani has also said that he will soon spell out his future course of action and affiliation.

Referring to the recent nomination of Jaya Bachchan, Alok Ranjan and Ramji Lal Suman as party candidates for the Rajya Sabha seats from UP, Sherwani said he did not expect a nomination for himself but that there should have been a Muslim representation in this list.