Mumbai, April 22 (IANS) Softening their stand on the Congress, prominent Shia organisations, community leaders and Islamic scholars Tuesday appealed to Muslims to vote for the party in the ongoing national elections.
Top Shia leaders announced their decision Tuesday after a meeting late Monday night in the city, an official said.
"Remember the Gujarat riots before voting for the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. It's the RSS which is trying to make him a hero," Khoja Ashan Ashri Jamaat president Safdar Karmali said on behalf of various groups.
Karmali said the Muslim community "is not safe" under Modi and in order to foil the designs of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Muslims must vote for parties with secular credentials, which are the Congress and its allies.
Ali Akbar Sharoff, another prominent Shia leader, said that past differences of the community with the Congress and its leaders like Ahmed Patel must be buried now and Muslims should cast their votes in favour of that party.
Shia leader Shabbir Somji expressed concern that India was passing through a crucial phase with communal forces raising their heads and it was imperative for the minorities to strengthen the hands of the secular forces led by the Congress.
The development comes five days after a delegation of Shia leaders led by state Minority Affairs Minister Naseem Khan and senior community leader Irfan Kidwai met Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and expressed their full support to the Congress.
The meeting came soon after Lucknow-based Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawwad met BJP president Rajnath Singh and expressed the community's support to the party.
The Shias have also rejected the so-called 'fatwa' (edict) issued by Maulana Jawwad, saying that as per the community's customs and traditions, 'fatwas' can only be issued from Iraq or Iran.
Hectic campaigning is also underway on various social networking websites, appealing to the country's 28 crore Muslims to vote en bloc for the Congress and defeat communal forces.
Some of the major groups that have expressed support to the Congress include the All India Shia Personal Law Board, the Mazare Shaeed Salis (Agra), the Mogha Masjid Imambada, the Imam of Shia Rehmatabad Masjid and Haideri Federation of India.
Kailash Kher, Anup Jalota among 56 'Yash Bharti' awardees
Lucknow, Feb 9 (IANS) Singers Anoop Jalota, Rajan and Sajan Mishra, Rekha Bhardwaj, Kailash Kher and lyricist-music composer Ravindra Jain were among the 56 people who were Monday presented the
All issues with Pakistan can be resolved: Modi
New Delhi, March 23 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday greeted his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on Pakistan's National Day and said that "all outstanding issues can be resolved
Arunachal Pradesh: Two Indians missing from area adjacent to China, army and police engaged in search
Two Indian youths have gone missing from the India-China border area in Arunachal Pradesh. Both had gone in search of medicinal plants. The family members of both youths have lodged a missing
Why arrest boy for Facebook comment, SC asks UP
New Delhi, March 20 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Uttar Pradesh government why was a schoolboy arrested for allegedly posting objectionable comments against Samajwadi Party leader
Corona will end only from Omicron: Experts are calling it a vaccine to end the epidemic; As Omicron spreads, deaths are falling
The new variant of Corona, Omicron, will be the reason for its elimination. A former scientist of the British Medical Council gave information about this. According to experts, there is no need to be
Sidhu Moosewala Murder: Are the killers of Moosewala in Nepal, special cell teams left, this clue was found
Teams of the Special Cell of Delhi Police, probing the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, have left for Nepal and Muzaffarnagar. It is being said that the police have found the location of the
Government committed to provide affordable health care: President
New Delhi, Feb 23 (IANS) President Pranab Mukherjee Monday said the government was committed to provide accessible and affordable health care to all its citizens and was making efforts to promote
FIR lodged against teacher earning Rs 1 crore in 25 schools simultaneously
An FIR has been lodged in Baghpat against Anamika Shukla, working simultaneously in the post of teacher in 25 Kasturba Gandhi Girls Schools of the state. An FIR will also be filed against women
Patna family injected with sedatives, robbed
Patna, Jan 6 (IANS) Unidentified armed men carried out a robbery here Monday night by breaking into a house and injecting the family with sedatives before fleeing with cash and valuables worth
The husband said- 'Now I have nothing to do with Sapna', the young man who eloped with his mother-in-law was seen on CCTV.
The young man who eloped with his would-be mother-in-law boarded a train from Kasganj. He is seen standing alone in the CCTV footage installed at the railway station there. Two of his friends dropped
