Congress Misleading Muslims Using Religious Groups: TRS

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi on Sunday accused the Congress party of misleading the Muslim community using some religious organisations.

Reacting to the support announced by some religious institutions including Jamiat Ulema Hind, Tahreek Muslim Shabban and United Muslim Forum to the Congress party in the upcoming elections, TRS MLC Mohammad Mahmood Ali strongly condemned their move, and described their decision as unilateral.

He said that none of these Muslim groups had approached the TRS leadership with their charter of demands, and their support to the Congress was stage-managed.

He however said that TMS President Md Mushtaq Mallik had contacted him asking him to bring TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao or K Tarakarama Rao to the TMS meeting, but it was too short a notice.

"Since all our senior leaders were busy with the campaigning, they were not in a position to make it to the event at such a short notice. Therefore, I myself offered to participate in the event. But he declined my request. It is strange that they don't want to respect or trust the Muslim leaders of the TRS and yet talk about Muslim welfare," he said.

Stating that the TRS was a secular party, Mahmood Ali made it clear that the TRS would never ally with the BJP or NDA. He said that the TRS has refused to ally with the BJP although it was ready to contest only 15 Assembly and two Lok Sabha seats in Telangana.

He said that the TRS would support the non-Congress, non-BJP front after the elections, and will never join the communal forces.

Mahmood Ali alleged that the Congress was notorious for cheating the Muslim community. It did nothing for the development of Muslims of Telangana. The economy of Telangana Muslims was shattered after the Police Action of 1948, and several laws like the Ceiling Act were brought to snatch away the lands owned by Muslims.

The Congress party was also responsible for the communal riots in Hyderabad, and several innocent youth were implicated in false cases by the Congress Government, he added. He said that the percentage of Muslims in government jobs was reduced during the Congress regimes, and Wakf properties worth several hundreds crores were swindled by Congress leaders.

He alleged that former minister Mohammad Ali Shabbir, who mediated talks with Muslim groups, sold away the Wakf properties of Dargah Ishaq Madani in Visakhapatnam, and at Lanco Hills in Hyderabad and other places.

Mahmood Ali asked the Muslim organisations and clerics to adopt an honest approach in extending their support to a political party in the upcoming elections. He said that the Muslim bodies should have compared the manifestos of both the Congress and the TRS, and should have held consultations with the leaders of the TRS too before announcing their decision.

He alleged that the Congress was using the heads of some organisations to lure the Muslim voters in the State.

Defending the promises made in the TRS manifesto, Mahmood Ali said that KCR would ensure 12% reservation for Muslims and fulfill all other promises. The TRS gave more tickets to Muslims in Telangana compared to the Congress party. Therefore, instead of extending blind support, the Muslim bodies should keep the community's interest in mind while supporting political parties in the upcoming elections, he said.

"Muslims trusted the Congress for over 40 years and the TDP for about 18 years. This time, they should trust the TRS and give it an opportunity to fulfill its promises," he said. (INN)