The lawmaker from Nagina was speaking at a Muslim dialogue conference in Lucknow
NEW DELHI — Berating the stoic silence of secular parties in the wake of ‘biased’ and ‘prejudiced’ policies for Muslims in Uttar Pradesh, Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief Chandrashekhar Azad on Saturday called upon the Muslim community to support his party in the 2027 state assembly polls.
“Other opposition parties, secular only in name, are playing with the sentiments of Muslims and have cheated them, whereas the ASP is fighting for their rights,” the Lok Sabha member of parliament from Nagina claimed.
He was speaking at a Muslim dialogue conference in Lucknow on Saturday. “The state government has a problem with Muslims and not with the trouble faced by the common people during the Kanwar Yatra,” media reports quoted him as saying.
“The devotees move on roads across the state during the month-long Kanwar Yatra. For the administration, it is not a problem, but when Muslims offer namaz in the open, a police force is deployed to stop them. The BJP government has adopted a discriminatory policy toward the Muslims,” Azad alleged.
“The shops belonging to the Muslim community are being closed on the Kanwar Yatra route. Muslims are not selling non-vegetarian food, yet they are forced to close their establishments. Even the barber and tea shops belonging to Muslims have been closed. It’s against the Constitution,” he said.
Enumerating the various anti-Muslim actions of the Yogi Adityanath government, Azad said Muslims are being deprived of their educational rights, their institutions are being demolished and government schools are being merged. The other opposition parties are mere spectators to the atrocities on the Muslims, whereas the ASP cadre has hit the streets to fight for their rights,” the lawmaker claimed.
“The BJP-led NDA government has brought the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, to harass Muslims. Religious freedom is being denied to the Muslim community. The ASP will fight for their rights. The Muslim empowerment and rights issues will be in the ASP’s poll manifesto,” he claimed.
Muslim dialogue initiative with the Lucknow conference and plans a similar exercise in different parts of the state.
Commenting on equal representation for all communities in governance, Azad said the ASP will distribute tickets on the population formula “jiski jitni sankhya bhari uski utni hissedari”. In the upcoming panchayat election, the ASP will distribute tickets using the same formula, Azad said.
“The ASP will organise Dalit and OBC dialogue conferences in various districts to mobilise their support for the 2027 assembly election. The party has decided to go solo in the assembly election and work on the Dalit-OBC-Muslim formula to unseat the BJP,” he said.
