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Muslim World News Updates |
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31 March 2009 MUMBAI: About 30 Muslim
organizations in Maharashtra jointly issued an
ultimatum to the Congress party and its alliance
partner the Nationalist Congress Party, and regretted
the decision of the two parties for not giving proper
representation to the Muslim community while fielding
candidates for the Lok Sabha polls.
Demanding that the Congress-NCP field at least five
Muslim candidates for the Lok Sabha polls in the
state, Muslim scholars belonging to these groups
warned that if their demand is not met the Muslims
would be asked to support candidates from other
secular parties.
They also demanded that the Congress and NCP should
also support Abu Asim Azmi, former Rajya Sabha member
and the Samajwadi Party candidate from Mumbai
Northeast. The leaders of the organizations also said
that the Muslims would support Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
candidate Mohammed Ali Shaikh from Mumbai South if the
Congress and NCP did not accept their demands. The
organizations include All-India Muslim Personal Law
Board, All-India Ulema Council, Raza Foundation and
All-India Ulema Association.
Maulana Syed Ather Ali, president of the All-India
Ulema Council, said that given the fact that nearly 12
to 15 percent population of the state consists of
Muslim community, the Congress and NCP should offer at
least five seats to Muslim candidates from places were
they would win.
He added that as far as the candidates of the
alliance were concerned, the Congress had filed only
one Muslim candidate, the federal Minorities Minister
Abdul Rahman Antulay from Raigad, while the NCP has
not fielded any Muslim candidate.
“The need is to keep the secular votes intact,” Ali
said. Maulana Ejaz Kashmiri, also from the All-India
Ulema Council, flayed the Congress and NCP and said
that it was now necessary to support Azmi and Shaikh. |
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