Not Congress, regional parties our best bet: Muslim Clerics - Economic Times

NEW DELHI: Two influential Muslim religious voices have blasted the Congress party for treating the community as a vote bank and claimed the country's largest minority grouping was more inclined to casting its lot with regional parties in the next general elections. The two leaders, Maulana Muhammad Wali Rahmani and Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawad Naqvi, based in the battleground states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, respectively, and part of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, in separate interviews to ET accused Congress of paying lip service to Muslim concerns as they heaped criticism on BJP and its likely face for the next elections, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. While saying Congress could receive the Muslim community's votes in states where its candidates are in direct opposition to BJP, the two clerics said past experience showed that Muslim interests are ignored when a party with absolute majority is in power at the Centre. "It is not in the interest of Muslims to have one party with absolute majority at the Centre because our experience with Congress has shown that minorities are then ignored. But a coalition government safeguards the rights of minorities better," said Maulana Kalbe Jawad, a Shia leader from Lucknow. The head priest of the country's largest Shia mosque - Lucknow's Shahi Asafi Mosque - Kalbe Jawad has led several agitations for Muslim causes. His arrest in 2010 by the Mayawati government had sparked protests and riots in the city. Maulana Rahmani, a Sunni cleric from Munger in Bihar, was also critical of the Congress party. Congress Plays on Fears Maulana Rahmani said Congress had long sought to corner the Muslim vote by playing on their fears of opposition parties rather than earning the vote through promises fulfilled. "Congress thinks Muslims are worried because of the Modi factor. But Muslims are not as worried as they think. They will see what promises Congress made to them since 2004 and how much has been implemented. We have got nothing," he said. "Vaade ke baad iraade main kya hua (After promises there was no intention)," he added. The Muslim vote is being wooed by all political parties barring BJP, especially because of the community's tendency to vote tactically in favour of parties that best protect its interests. With the Hindu vote traditionally splintered and divided across multiple political formations, the Muslim community could play a crucial role in determining the winner in the two battleground states and indeed who runs the country. In Uttar Pradesh, which has 80 Lok Sabha seats, Muslims account for more than 18% of the electorate, while in Bihar, which has 40 seats, they form almost 17% of the voting population. The two leaders, who, while not being the sole voices of the community have substantial pockets of individual influence and sit on the high table of Muslim decision-making, lashed out at BJP, particularly the head of its election committee and presumptive prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi. Copyright © 2013 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. via Top Stories - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNH5T7A5TqI2gy9gaoIcIshktUtsHQ&url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/not-congress-regional-parties-our-best-bet-muslim-clerics/articleshow/21288352.cms

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