Ulama Council president wants 10% assembly seats for Muslims

With elections nearing, the political heat in the state is going up. On Tuesday, the Rashtriya Ulama Council levelled serious allegations against both BJP and Congress, and demanded that Muslim candidates be fielded from seats in proportion to their population.

Speaking with reporters, Rashtriya Ulama Council president Maulana Amir Rashadi Madni lashed out at Congress for using Muslims as a vote-bank, and came down heavily on BJP over issues such as terrorism and cow protection.

“Muslims account for 10% of Gujarat’s population, but they are nowhere in the picture. Why are none of the parties talking about Muslims or raising issues related to them? The Congress should field Muslim candidates from 18 out of 182 seats in proportion to the community’s population,” Madni demanded.

Accusing the BJP of never considering the Muslim community, Madni questioned whether the party was ready to make a new beginning by fielding candidates from the community.

Taking a dig at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Madni said he has the time to meet others, but could not find time to meet Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre in 2002. He also questioned if Gandhi was willing to grant reservation to Muslims under EBC quota on the lines of Patidars. He also said there is no Hindu or Islamic terrorism, saying the governments of the day give rise to political terrorism.