Congress reiterated its anti-Hindu character last week. During a meeting to felicitate the party’s Gujarat unit’s newly-appointed working president Kadir Pirzada, the party reiterated that it always stayed with Muslims. Congress also urged the Muslim community not to vote for other parties attempting to woo them, such as All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Reporting on the news, The Print notes:
Congress leaders in Gujarat on Wednesday urged the members of the Muslim community to support the party in the upcoming state polls in order to defeat the “devious” agenda of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
They also urged the minority community not to get carried away by the propaganda of the new entrants in the fray – All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which they termed as the BJP’s “B and C teams”, saying that doing so would divide its votes and ultimately help the ruling party…
…Speaking on the occasion, state Congress president Jagdish Thakor urged Muslim leaders, including Pirzada, to frame a time-bound programme targeting 60 Assembly seats with sizable Muslim population. He also called for an election manifesto for the minority communities…
…Thakor said that Congress has always stayed with the minorities and never changed its ideology, irrespective of whether it occupies power or not.
“A Congress prime minister used to say with confidence that minorities have the first right on the country’s treasury. Congress knows how much saying so has hurt the party, but it will still not compromise on its ideology,” Thakor said, addressing the function organised by the party’s state minority department.
Remembering late Congress leader Ahmed Patel on occasion, party veteran Arjun Modhwadia said that as the head of the family, Patel kept the party leaders united. “But when he is not with us, it is our responsibility to remain united,” he said. He also cautioned the Muslim voters to stay united and not to get swayed by the two parties that have entered the fray “to divide votes”…
…Jignesh Mevani, who has also been appointed as a working president of the Gujarat Congress, remembered arrested social activist Teesta Setalvad and her struggle “for justice to the Muslims of Gujarat.” He said he always stood with the minorities and struggled for them…
During his address, Pirzada demanded representation for the community and claimed that Congress formed the government with the help of the Muslim votes. “The community is at times at a loss as to who it should talk to. On the one hand, we have no government, while on the other there is no representation. You ran after Hardik (Patel, the former Congress leader who joined BJP) and forgot that these (Muslims) are the people who formed the Congress government,” he said.
The party has often bared its anti-Hindu fangs. This is the latest example of its minority appeasement. It must be remembered that during his tenure as the PM, Manmohan Singh tried to woo Muslims, saying they must have the first claim on the country’s resources. Thakor re-emphasizing Singh’s lines only indicate the party has not learned any lessons.
