BOMBAY, 23 April — The statements of Muslim legislators of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) that they are not against their party joining hands with the Hindu extremist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh are nothing but sheer opportunism.

A BSP legislator, Abdul Mannan, said that he did not expect any backlash from his community for his support to the BJP. Another legislator said that the demolition of Babri Mosque was an old issue and that Muslims should forget it.

These 14 BSP legislators have sent a message to the Muslim community that for the sake of power and self interest, they can sacrifice whatever is needed. None of the Muslim BSP legislators were concerned with the reactions of Indian Muslims.

Reacting to the statements, the Indian television writer and director, Mujeeb Khan, expressed shock and despair at BSP legislators joining hands with the fundamentalist BJP to share power. Strong reactions have also come from various Muslim intellectuals.

One Bombay lawyer expressed his disappointment over the move of the BSP Muslim legislators to support the BJP in forming the government. He said, “Opportunist Muslim politicians have caused great harm to the community and given an opportunity to fundamentalists to go on with their offensive against the Muslims, not only in Gujarat but all over India. It is because of such Muslims politicians that the community has suffered and is suffering”.

It is not only BSP Muslim legislators that are under attack but the 41 Muslim members of Parliament, excluding K.M. Khan, are also under attack. These MP’s have not uttered a single word against the killings of thousands of Muslims or the destruction of billions of rupees worth of property in Gujarat.

Not a single Muslim MP has visited the relief camps or raised the issue in the Parliament. The job of taking on the central government over the riots were left with such Hindu MP’s as Somnath Chaterjee, Sonia Gandhi, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Kamalnath.

Bollywood stars Dilip Kumar, Sharukh Khan, Salman Khan, Amir Khan were also not spared Muslim anger. While aid for rehabilitation poured in from all over the world, these Bollywood stars with millions of dollars neither visited the relief camps in Gujarat nor contributed a cent for rehabilitation.

But the Maharashtra police have received accolades from all quarters of the Muslim community in the state. The police acted firmly in handling a communal riot in Akola.

Had the district police chief not acted promptly, there were fears that the situation could have become another Gujarat.