Lucknow, April 5 (IANS) Shahi Imam Ahmed Bukhari's open support to the Congress for the Lok Sabha election has drawn sharp criticism from the political parties and Muslim groups in Uttar Pradesh.
While Shia cleric Kalbe Jawwad Saturday asserted that the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) slug fest has irked the minorities, National Ulema Council president Maulana Aamir Rashdi slammed the Jama Masjid Imam for "the haazri (attendance) in Sonia Gandhi's durbaar".
Bukhari should come and clear what "deal" he has struck with the Congress, Rashdi said adding the Congress is a party, which has "always ditched the Muslims".
The Muslims in the country, were not a property of Bukhari, Rashdi said urging minorities to vote as per their choice of secular candidates.
Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangimahali, a prominent Muslim voice in the state, also came down heavily on Bukhari for his appeal to the Muslims, to vote for the Congress.
"Such calls to vote on religious lines hurt the democracy" Farangimahali told IANS adding in any case, the Muslims were not obliged to follow the political diktats of Bukhari.
"In the past, the Imam has sided with the BJP and the SP, I am sure the Muslims know what are the problems dear to them and would vote accordingly," he said.
Political parties including the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party (SP) have also decried Bukhari for announcing his support Friday to the Congress.
Uttar Pradesh Urban development and Minority Affairs Minister Azam Khan urged Bukhari to rethink on his decision.
Bukhari has extended his support to the SP in the 2012 state assembly election and appealed to the Muslims to vote for Mulayam Singh Yadav's party.
IPL 2020: If Virat Kohli loses to RCB, MI's Ishaan Kishan becomes hero
The Mumbai team, who had placed a big bet of five and a half crores on this wicket-keeper-batsman
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kolkata on January 23 to address the 'Parakram
Sure Indians will be rooting for New Zealand: McCullum
Melbourne, March 28 (IANS) New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum believes Indians fans, who will
Sushmita Sen and Rohman Shawl were in a relationship for many years. Even though Rohman was young
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has given a controversial statement on the allegations being
It's Victory for Truth and Honesty: Kejriwal
New Delhi, Feb 10 (IANS) In his first public comments after his AAP won a landslide in Delhi's
Vivian Dsena is one of the most loved and popular contestants of 'Bigg Boss 18'. The actor's vide
Maha Shivratri celebrated with religious fervour
New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS) Hundreds of thousands of devotees across the country celebrated Maha
Prabhu opens Lumding-Silchar rail line in Assam
New Delhi, March 27 (IANS) Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu on Friday inaugurated the landmark L
The news of atrocities on Hindu minorities has come to the fore once again in Bangladesh. The lat
