Congress MLA Zeeshan Siddiqui on Thursday asked whether he was targeted in the party because of his religion. This statement of Siddiqui comes a day after he was removed from the post of Mumbai Youth Congress President on February 21.
Hitting back at the grand old party, Siddiqui said whatever is happening to the minorities in the Congress party is unfortunate. He said that he will remain with the Congress party but will keep his options open.
“There is more communalism in the Congress and the Mumbai Youth Congress than anywhere else. Is it a sin to be a Muslim in the Congress? The party has to answer; am I being targeted just because I am a Muslim?” Siddiqui asked.
Zeeshan’s father Baba Siddiqui had left Congress and joined Ajit Pawar faction NCP earlier this month. Zeeshan is a Congress MLA representing Mumbai’s Vandre (East) assembly seat and is rumored to be leaving the party like his father.
The Congress party issued a statement on February 21 saying that it was removing Zeeshan from the post of Mumbai Youth Congress President. In response, Zeeshan said the Congress was being unfair to Muslim leaders, adding that despite being elected Youth Congress president, he personally has not received any communication from the party regarding his removal.
“I was not nominated for this post. I won the election and got 90,000 votes.
Zeeshan also alleged that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s hands are tied and it seems that Rahul Gandhi’s team is on the payroll of other parties to destroy the Congress. “During the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Nanded, a person close to Rahul Gandhi told me that I should lose 10 kg and then he would introduce me to him,” he alleged.
Zeeshan’s father Baba Siddiqui was welcomed by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on 13 February and presented with a garland that included the party symbol. Baba Siddiqui had said that he was asked by NCP leader Praful Patel to join the party.
Baba Siddiqui, a three-time MLA from Bandra West constituency, was the former Minister of State for Food and Civil Supplies. He was also the Chairman of Mumbai Division of Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority.
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Published: 22 February 2024, 09:29 PM IST
