Under fire for demanding the revocation of Muslims’ voting rights in its editorial mouthpiece Saamana, the Shiv Sena sought to downplay the article saying the party is against “appeasement politics” and the violation of fundamental rights of Muslim women.
“The article doesn’t want Muslims’ voting rights to be taken away, but it is not right for people like AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi to nurture the deprived feelings of Muslims. They have been deprived of overall development and are being used and misguided for personal benefits. He (Sena MP and Saamana editor Sanjay Raut) is opposing this appeasement politics,” Sena MlC and spokesperson Neelam Gorhe told PTI.
“The (Saamana) article tries to say that to achieve development in every sphere of life, the politics of appeasement being done by a section of leaders needs to be done away with as it is not in the interest of Muslims. These people are only misguiding the community without really helping them,” clarified Gorhe.
“If Muslims are only being used this way to play politics, then they can never develop. Muslims will have no future till they are used to play vote bank politics and thus Balasaheb had once said to withdraw Muslims voting rights. What he said is right,” an editorial in Saamana said on Sunday. The article should be looked at from an “overall perspective” and should not be misinterpreted as being against the Muslim community, she said.