INDIAN MUSLIMS WELCOME THE ELECTION RESULTS
Submitted by Kaleem Kawaja
New Delhi, 16 May 2009: The All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat [umbrella body of Indian Muslim organizations] welcomed the mandate given by the people of India to the UPA in general and the Congress Party in particular.
The AIMMM President Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan said in a statement here that the elections’ outcome is a clear indication that the Indian voter has rejected the divisive and communal politics of the NDA and its allies.
Dr Khan said that the Muslim community all over the country has welcomed the outcome of the elections. Apart from other national and regional issues, the results are to a large extent due to a clear Muslim swing, especially in the north, towards the Congress Party for the first time since the demolition of the Babri Mosque in 1992.
Dr Khan said that the Congress Party’s initiatives as head of the UPA, including the Sachar Report and the measures taken in its wake, e.g., Prime Minister’s revised 15 point programme, scholarships scheme for minority students and schools for minority areas, containment of the terrorism scare created by the BJP, especially since the arrival of Mr Chidambram as head of the home ministry, have helped to bring Muslims back to the Congress.
Dr Khan added that the secular image of the Gandhi family, Rahul’s friendly image and attitude towards the community and the poor, and the clean and sincere image of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his accessibility to the community leaders have gone a long way to convince Muslims to vote again for the Congress.
Dr Khan said that the Congress party should not take this support for granted as the Muslim community will closely watch during the next five years if the party was really serious about its announcements and policies. The community will watch if the now unfettered Congress government was really serious about implementing the plethora of schemes announced by the Prime Minister during the last three years. The community will also watch how fair the new government is in tackling the terrorism scare unleashed by the BJP as a weapon against the Muslim community. This scare is responsible for keeping many innocent Muslim youths behind bars.
Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan, President, AIMMM (mushawarat@mushawarat.com)