New Delhi: Under pressure from its leaders and the RSS the Bharatiya Janata Party has annulled the membership of expelled JDU leader Sabir Ali. BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the decision on Sabir Ali has been taken by party president Rajnath Singh.
Reacting to the cancellation of his membership, Sabir Ali told CNN-IBN that he will take the legal route. "I have faith in my voters. I know where to go. I don't feel insulted."
This came hours after an open war broke out in the BJP with party leaders Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Vinay Katiyar questioning Sbir Ali's induction into the party. Sabir Ali had said that his membership should be put on hold till party leaders' charges against him are cleared.
Sabir Ali had earlier also said that he will quit politics if charges are proven against him. "If anyone finds a connection between me and Bhatkal I will quit politics. People who make such allegations must take some moral responsibility. I know my credentials and they are strong," Ali said.
In fact, sources had said that BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi kept party leaders in the dark as he initiated the induction of expelled JDU leader Sabir Ali into the party. Sources said that Modi met Sabir Ali in Gandhinagar on March 6 without the knowledge of other BJP leaders. Sources said Modi's supporters in Gujarat took the initiative to bring in Sabir Ali.
His induction was part of the strategy to have more Muslim faces in the BJP, sources said. Sources had also said that BJP leaders in Delhi were informed of his induction much later.
The embarrassment for the BJP a day after Naqvi tweeted saying Ali has close links to arrested Indian Mujahideen terrorist Yasin Bhatkal, adding that his induction will weaken the BJP's stand against terrorism. Naqvi also said that Ali's induction was akin to Dawood Ibrahim being given a BJP ticket. "Terrorist Bhatkal friend joins BJP. Soon accepting Dawood," Naqvi tweeted.
"I am a dedicated member of the BJP. We should rectify mistakes that the party has made. Our fight is against terrorism and anyone who is involved in any terrorist activities should not become a part of the BJP. It will lead to problems in the future," he later said.
Naqvi had later deleted his tweet. However, he said that his stand on Sabir Ali remains the same, but he deleted the tweet due to reference to Dawood Ibrahim.
BJP leader Vinay Katiyar also spoke out against Ali's induction, accusing the party of taking such a decision in a hurry and warning the party that this will tarnish its image. "Yasin Bhatkal was nabbed in the same area where Sabir Ali comes from. Bhatkal is a co-accused with Dawood in a murder case. There was no need to induct such a person into the party. This will damage the BJP's image," Katiyar said.
The RSS too has expressed displeasure. RSS leader Ram Madhav tweeted, "Sabir Ali's induction has caused great resentment. Party leadership has been apprised of the strong views of the cadre and people against it."
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