Moves afoot for reunion of MIM-MBT

hyderabad: nearly nine years after going their separate ways, leaders of the two formidable parties in the old city of hyderabad, the majlis-e-ittehadul muslimeen (mim) and majlis bachau tehreek (mbt), are exploring ways to reunite the two parties. though leaders have denied that there is any such initiative in the offing, they said the parties are not against anything that could benefit the muslim community at large.'' while the mim leaders have chosen to remain tight-lipped over the issue, the mbt has announced that it is ready for talks with its parent party — if they would benefit the community.we are ready do anything that benefits the muslim community. my differences were never with the mim, but with certain policies of its leadership. my doors are always open for talks,'' mbt president amanullah khan told the times of india on thursday. we are not aware of any such move, mim president sultan salahuddin owaisi said when asked to react to khan's statement. senior leaders of the party, however, did not rule out the possibility of the leadership extending an olive branch to the mbt to come back to the fold. speculation was rife in the city about a possible m i m - m b t merger even during while the campaign for the mch elections was going on. some muslim religious leaders are understood to have spoken to both majlis groups to sink their differences to fight the determined onslaught of the tdp-bjp in the old city. but it was only after the announcement of the election results that the two parties started considering the possibility of merger. i was expelled from the mim for six years in 1993 and they never asked me to rejoin the party after the expulsion period expired in 1999. i am still a member of the mim and will remain so for my entire life. my differences with the leadership were not at a personal level, but i raised issues concerning the entire muslim community, amanullah khan said. sources in the mim have confirmed that efforts were being made to bring amanullah khan back into the party, a development which would help the party in its ongoing expansion plans. this was also being done to neutralise the impact of the defection of three former mim mlas, ibrahim bin abdullah masqati and vizarath rasool khan to the tdp, and syed baquer agha to the congress.