NEW DELHI, 12 May 2007 — Veteran Muslin leader and former member of Parliament Syed Shahabuddin has resigned from the Congress party. Shahabuddin, who has been in the forefront of key battles to project Muslim issues, released a statement of his intent to quit Congress as the election process in UP is over. He said, “I had joined Congress on the eve of the 2004 general election to participate in the epic battle against the resurgent forces of communalism. But three years later I realized that the party has no use for me, while I had lost my freedom and felt shackled in reacting to political developments... On March 29, I wrote to Sonia Gandhi seeking her permission to dissociate myself from the party in order to regain my freedom of expression. I received no response... Now that the UP election is over, I have decided to inform the people, my community and my political friends of where I stand.”
