Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh today said Rashtriya Kranti Party’s Kalyan Singh and Apna Dal’s Sone Lal Patel have joined hands with him to help Backward Castes — accounting for 54 per cent of the state’s population — secure their political, social and economic rights.The struggle would be countrywide, he said. ‘‘We have decided to teach a lesson to the anti-backward forces, led by the BJP combine, which has come together to terrorise the backwards.’’ Two meetings and a mahasammelan of Backward Castes would be organised.‘‘To begin with, we would contest the ensuing four Assembly and Lok Sabha bypolls together and rout the BJP-BSP combine,’’ he said. Mulayam lashed out at the Milli Council and the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board for issuing fatwa to the community dictating whom they should vote. Had these organisations not issued fatwa, SP would have got an absolute majority, Mulayam said.These organisations must clarify which parties they found secular and whether the BSP, that had joined hands with the BJP, was still secular, he said. ‘‘Unlike others, SP does not play politics of votes. If Muslims think SP took up their cause for votes, they are wrong.’’Mulayam alleged the BJP-BSP coaliton government had let loose terror against backwards. Cases were being registered against them under the Harijan Act by Dalit members and Dalit officers, he said.Mulayam showed reporters a Yadav family of Barathara village of Kanpur Dehat who were allegedly thrashed on May 16 by Dalit officials. The family has been booked under Harijan Act, he said.
