Following strong criticism from different quarters of Muslim community for extending support to Lok Satta Party president Dr Jayaprakash Narayan from Malkajgiri Lok Sabha seat, the Muslim United Forum on Thursday reversed its decision and announced its support for Union Minister Sarve Satyanarayana.
The Forum comprises of several prominent religious personalities including Tameer-e-Millat President Mohammad Abdul RAheem Qureshi, Jamia Nizamia rector Syed Akbar Nizamuddin Hussain Saberi, Majlis-e-Ulema Deccan president Syed Md Qubool Badesha Shutteri, Darul-Uloom head Mohammad Raheemuddin Ansari and others. They came under severe criticism after they announced their support to different candidates on different seats. In a damage control exercise, the clerics held an emergency meeting on Thursday and reversed some of their decisions.
“The Forum has made an appeal to the voters of Seemandhra region, particularly the Muslims to vote for AIMIM candidates in Anantapur Urban, Hindupur, Kadiri, Guntakal, Madanapalli, Nandyal, Alur, Adoni, Rayachoti, Ponnur, Guntur West, Guntur East, Markapuram, Vijayawada West and Singanamala (SC) Assembly constituencies,” Forum chief Rahim Qureshi said. He said the Forum has also decided to support MIM candidate PVN Reddy from Nandyal and did not elaborate on why it was not supporting former minister N Md Farooq’s candidature from Nandyal who is contesting on TDP ticket. On rest of the seats in Seemandhra, the Forum has asked voters to vote in favour of candidates who could defeat TDP-BJP combine.
The Forum’s decision is likely to draw further criticism as no religious leader from Seemandhra was either consulted or included in Forum while taking a decision on Seemandhra elections.
“Who are you to question our decisions?” an angry Qubool Pasha Shattari, Forum’s Vice-President asked media personnel. Despite drawing severe criticism from the decision taken earlier, the Forum members were not willing to clarify their stand. They did not explained the logic that went behind in choosing a particular candidate to be supported in elections. They had no answers on whether people should judge the sitting MLAs on their previous performance. A few members of the Forum had admitted that no scientific or uniform approach has been adopted while announcing their support.
The Forum members clearly looked tilted towards the MIM and Congress, in both Telangana and Seemandhra regions. Interestingly, they preferred non-Muslim candidates of MIM over Muslim candidates of other parties. This is probably the most-secular approach adopted by any religious group of Muslims in India so far. They apprehended that both TRS and YSRCP might join the BJP-led NDA after the elections although they did not speak to any of these two parties on this issue or submitted them the list of demands for the Muslim community. (INN)