By M Reyaz, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: The surge of Arvind Kejriwal and his party Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) once again in Delhi has not only forced the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rethink its election strategy, but it seems that the grand old party – the Indian National Congress – too is not very confident of its victory even in the few Muslim borrows, where it has traditionally had strong presence.
On Friday, a four pages leaflet in Urdu was distributed outside most of the mosques in the Muslim dominated pocket of Okhla constituency. The leaflet distributed in the name of some ‘Peace Council of India,’ “warns” Muslims that there is a ‘nexus’ between AAP and the RSS. It goes on to add that Arvind Kejriwal and BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi are “two sides of the same coin.”
Local stalwart Asif Mohammad Khan, who joined Congress just before the last elections is up for a strong fight with the AAP candidate Amanatullah Khan.
The leaflet says, “Votes cast in favour of AAP will strengthen the communal forces” in the country. Questioning the purported silence of AAP and Arvind Kejriwal on the so called love jihad and ghar wapsi, the leaflet adds that AAP’s position on the Batla House Police shoot out, largely believed to be fake by the people from the locality, is also dubious.
The pamphlet, in bold, further says “It is now time that Muslims should not be mere spectators, but come forward to play the critical role for the unity and betterment of the country.”
Raising the bogey of terrorism and communal riots, the second page of the leaflet notes: “Security of the minorities is the biggest question” and warns once again that the votes cast in favour of AAP will only strengthen the BJP.
The third page makes it amply clear who are behind bringing out the leaflet. It is titled in Urdu, ‘Congress is the only alternative’. Highlighting some of the achievements of the UPA government at the Centre and the Sheila Dikshit-led Congress government in Delhi, the pamphlet acknowledges that there have been “some shortcomings,” but assures that once they are back in power, they will further work for the benefit of the minorities.
The final page once again urges the Muslims: “To decide carefully after pondering over the issue for it is a question of secularism and security of Muslims.”
Ahead of the 2013 Assembly elections, Muslims were apprehensive of AAP, but they have gradually shed their inhabitations and appear eager, to try AAP. These include poor as well as young educated voters. Congress appears to be facing a drubbing once again. Congress was reduced to mere eight seats in 2013 polls, including four from Muslim-dominated seats. Okhla was one of these.
Incidentally, on January 23, the Milli Gazette – which is read by Muslim youth – had published an online article, “In the name of democracy, shall we unite and give Delhi to Kejriwal?”