Siddiqui says no to party politics
BY Samarth Saran31 July 2012 1:23 PM IST
Samarth Saran31 July 2012 1:23 PM IST
Two days after the Samajwadi Party expelled Shahid Siddiqui from the party for his interview of the Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, the journalist-politician has announced that he would not join any political party in future. In an exclusive talk with Millennium Post, Siddiqui said, 'In future, I will not enter any political party.'
The former Samajwadi Party leader said that he had been wanting to leave party politics for quite some time but continued because of the pressure from his supporters. 'I have realised that people like me are no more wanted in politics. Politics has become a family enterprise now, and only a sycophant can survive. Any person who believes in democratic polity cannot do it,' said Siddiqui.
Siddiqui was heavily critical of the way the Samajwadi Party is being run. He blamed Mulayam Singh Yadav's family for it. 'While Ram Gopal Yadav is a professor, he behaves like a tyrant. It is surprising the way he is behaving after coming to power,' said Siddiqui. He added that the Samajwadi Party was now being run the same way Mayawati used to run her government. 'Now, no one has the courage to speak against the party leadership,' said Siddiqui.
Siddiqui began his political career with the Congress and then moved to the Samajwadi Party, which nominated him to the Rajya Sabha. He left the Samajwadi Party in 2008 when it decided to support the Congress on the issue of Indo-US nuclear deal and moved to the Bahujan Samaj Party and then to the Rashtriya Lok Dal. Just before the Uttar Pradesh assembly election, Siddiqui moved back to the Samajwadi Party, from which he now stands expelled.
The former Samajwadi Party leader said that he had been wanting to leave party politics for quite some time but continued because of the pressure from his supporters. 'I have realised that people like me are no more wanted in politics. Politics has become a family enterprise now, and only a sycophant can survive. Any person who believes in democratic polity cannot do it,' said Siddiqui.
Siddiqui was heavily critical of the way the Samajwadi Party is being run. He blamed Mulayam Singh Yadav's family for it. 'While Ram Gopal Yadav is a professor, he behaves like a tyrant. It is surprising the way he is behaving after coming to power,' said Siddiqui. He added that the Samajwadi Party was now being run the same way Mayawati used to run her government. 'Now, no one has the courage to speak against the party leadership,' said Siddiqui.
Siddiqui began his political career with the Congress and then moved to the Samajwadi Party, which nominated him to the Rajya Sabha. He left the Samajwadi Party in 2008 when it decided to support the Congress on the issue of Indo-US nuclear deal and moved to the Bahujan Samaj Party and then to the Rashtriya Lok Dal. Just before the Uttar Pradesh assembly election, Siddiqui moved back to the Samajwadi Party, from which he now stands expelled.
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