Mumbai: Muslim religious leaders call for votes for secular parties

MUMBAI: Nearly 700 ulema (maulanas) and religious scholars from North-West constituency comprising Andheri, Jogeshwari and Goregaon, converged Friday to determine the voting pattern of the Muslim community at the upcoming General Election. It is rare for all sects including Sunni, Tablighi, Shia, Bohra, Wahhabi, Deobandi Barelvi to come together on one platform.

In one voice, they stressed the need to defeat the BJP and vote secular parties to preserve minority rights as guaranteed under the Indian Constitution.



The meeting was organised in Jogeshwari by the Khidmat Organisation that belongs to former Congress corporator Mohsin Haider and his wife Meher, present councillor. Haider said, "It is unprecedented for ulema of all sects to assemble like this on a common platform. There is a pressing need to combat the communal forces that propagate false notions of Muslims as anti-national." He recited a beautiful couplet to say that even a Muslim corpse is buried only after the ritual washing (ghusl) so as to not pollute the soil of the motherland.



Congress candidate for the North West assembly Sanjay Nirupam began his speech by reminding the audience of BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj's ominous utterance. "He clearly said that should Narendra Modi come to power this time, they will cancel elections in future. There will be no more polls. The Constitution will be suspended. So I say that this election is our chance to save the nation. We must set aside all our differences and come to common ground in order to preserve the values that have nurtured this nation for 70 years."



Imams and scholars of various sects echoed the fear that India's secular fabric is being damaged, that the very concept of nationhood is in jeopardy. "Right from the Ghadar (Rebellion) of 1857, our ulema have been martyred in the path of India. They did not fight for Muslims alone, they shed blood for all Indians," said one speaker.

Apprehensions of EVMs being tampered also found voice.

Jogeshwari maulana Burhanuddin Qasmi did express misgivings about the Congress for failing to support the AIUDF in Assam, and for not forging alliances with AAP and Mamata Banerjee to consolidate the secular vote.