A day after he accused the Congress of creating fear in the minds of Muslims by raising the bogey of Narendra Modi, prominent Muslim cleric Maulana Mehmood Madani stuck to his stand on Tuesday and said so-called “secular” parties should not seek votes in a “negative manner” but through a “positive” campaign.
The BJP latched on to these comments to allege that the Congress believes in the policy of divide and rule which has been “recognised” by the people. The Congress said it was not creating any scare about Modi and that it already exists. The party asked Madani to withdraw his statement.
“These so-called secular parties should explain what their Governments in different States have done. What promises they have fulfilled and which ones still remain to be fulfilled. They should seek votes on this basis and not on the basis of fear of somebody else (coming to power),” Madani, leader of prominent Islamic organisation Jamiat-i-Ulema-e-Hind, told reporters.
Madani did not name any party, but clearly referred to the contention by some parties that emergence of Modi would polarise the country and be detrimental to the interests of Muslims. “What I am saying is that, what have all the secular parties that have been in power, done so farIJ And what will they do in future to provide justice, equal opportunities to the peopleIJ I ask the secular parties to seek votes on the basis of the promises fulfilled during their tenure and the promises they will make through their election manifestos.
“Do not try to get our votes in a negative way by sowing the fear of a particular individual in us. Muslims won’t be deterred by that,” he said.
To a question on Modi, Madani said: “It is a totally different issue. What was Modi’s agenda and on what basis did he win Gujarat electionsIJ The media has been observing a change in his approach during the run-up to the general elections. I won’t talk about him now. My focus is solely on the secular parties’ methods of gaining Muslim votes.” The BJP used these remarks to target the Congress.
“It is now clear how the Congress has been exploiting people for votes. It has been scaring the voters to get their votes. But people have gradually realised this,” BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.
He said people are worried about price rise and corruption. BJP spokesperson Meenakshi lekhi said Madani’s observation is correct as the Congress has always used such tactics.
BJP leader Siddharth Nath Singh said: “People know that the Congress creates a rift between Hindus and Muslims.” Congress spokesman Meem Afzal said: “We have not created any fear. It has been there for long.”
CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said any type of communal polarisation for political benefits is not good. “We need to rouse people against such things to protect our secular, democratic traditions,” he said.