Senior SP leader demands a Parliamentary seat for Yakub Memon's wife

It seems that the politics surrounding the death of 1993 Mumbai terror attacks convict Yakub Memon, who was hanged on 30 July, continues.In a controversial move, Mohammed Farooq Ghosi, a senior Samajwadi Party leader, is seeking a Parliament seat for Yakub's wife, Raheen.

Ghosi, the Vice President of SP's Maharashtra unit, in a letter to the party's national chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, has requested that Raheen get a Parliament seat as 'she has suffered a lot'.

"Raheen Yakub Memon was also arrested in the Mumbai blast case but the court released her later as charges against her couldn't be proved. But she was in jail for years and might have suffered a lot. You have always supported needy and helpless. I feel that Raheen is also helpless. Likewise, many Muslims in the country are today feeling helpless. We must support Raheen, making her an MP so that she can raise her voice for all such helpless people," reports DNA quoted from the letter.

When asked about Ghosi's letter, Abu Azmi, state SP chief, said he had no idea about such a demand as Ghosi had not consulted them before approaching Mulayam Singh Yadav."I spoke to him over the phone and he admitted that he wrote the letter in personal capacity.

Nevertheless, the suggestion of making Yakub's wife an MP is wrong as she is not a political person," said Azmi.Azmi also claimed that the party would initiate action against Ghosi but did not elaborate further.

"This is their internal party matter. But it seems more like their tacit agenda to communalise the issue. The decision to hang Memon was taken by the Supreme Court and thus the matter should not be politicised now," Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said.

BJP leader Madhav Bhandari said Ghosi's comments prove that SP is only interested in playing vote-bank politics and that the party should come out and clear its stand on the issue.

"Every person has the right to suggest something to his party. But every leader needs to show some constraint while making suggestions. SP has to clear its stand and if he is acting against party line, then party should take some serious action. This is sheer exploitation of votebank politics," he said.

Yakub Memon, convicted as "a driving spirit" of the 1993 blasts in Mumbai, was hanged a little before 7 am at Nagpur Central Prison on 30 July, which was also his birthday. The Supreme Court had rejected his last-minute petition for mercy on the night of 29 July.