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.
Cyclone Gulab: Heavy rain in North Andhra and South Odisha; Two fishermen killed, one missing as boat capsizes in Srikakulam
Cyclonic storm Gulab hit the coasts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha around 7 pm. With this, rain has started in Srikakulam, Andhra with strong winds. Here a boat collided with a storm along the coast.
Nepal: PM Oli to submit a vote of confidence on May 10, the decision taken amid Corona's second wave
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who is facing a crisis in Nepal, will present a motion of confidence in Parliament on 10 May. KP Sharma Oli will offer this confidence motion as part of the continuance
Gold-Silver Price: Silver prices jump by Rs 14,500, gold reaches Rs 1.60 lakh, know today's update
Gold and silver prices continued to rise. Silver rose by ₹14,530 to ₹2.67 lakh per kg. Gold prices rose by ₹2,680 to ₹1.60 lakh per 10 grams.
Covid-19: The pace of the second wave is stopping, some states are being unlocked from today, know which restrictions are exempted
The outbreak of the second wave of Covid-19 across the country is decreasing day by day. On Monday, after 70,421 new cases of Covid-19 were reported in a single day, the number of infected people in
Stir against liquor outlets in holy town Barsana
Barsana (Uttar Pradesh), Feb 24 (IANS) Holy men, spiritual leaders and social activists here have joined hands to protest against liquor outlets in this holy town ahead of the Holi revelries.They
India to cooperate with Japan, Russia in disaster management
New Delhi, March 15 (IANS) Home Minister Rajnath Singh has assured Japan and Russia of "bilateral cooperation in disaster management" during bilateral meetings at the 3rd UN World Conference on
Cloud Cover Improves Temperatures in Jammu & Kashmir
Srinagar, J Jan 13 (IANS) The minimum temperatures across Jammu and Kashmir rose Tuesday due to nightlong cloud cover. The weather office has forecast rain and snowfall in the Kashmir
Digital Marketing: If you have this skill, then you will get a package of lakhs in these 5 areas, know how a career will be made in this
Due to the fast-growing digitization, almost 50 percent of the marketing sector has shifted from warehouses, shops, and shopping malls to the Internet. Here the consumer gets a lot of discounts due to
A city of poets: Lucknow and its 'shayars' (Column: Bookends)
Can a city develop a characteristic, exclusive literary style? A long-standing convention divides the Urdu ghazal tradition into "Dabistan-e-Dehli" and "Dabistan-e-Lakhnau" or Delhi and Lucknow
Modi's three rallies in Himachal Pradesh Apr 29
Shimla, April 24 (IANS) BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will address three public rallies in Himachal Pradesh April 29, a party leader said here Thursday.However, the state's
