Muslim outfits drift towards third front

Sending a clear message to the Congress at a time when elections are round the corner, a group of mainstream Islamic organisations on Monday...

Sending a clear message to the Congress at a time when elections are round the corner, a group of mainstream Islamic organisations on Monday shared a platform with leaders of a potential third front to condemn terrorism and oppose what they called 8220;targeting8221; of 8220;innocent8221; Muslim youth.

While these Muslim organisations openly expressed their anger at the Congress-led Government, leaders of the CPIM, CPI, BSP and JDS happily utilised the opportunity to drive home the need for formation of a 8220;political alternative8221; to the Congress and the BJP on a secular platform.

What could be worrying for the Congress is the fact that the Coordination Committee for Indian Muslims did not invite a single leader of the ruling party to the convention for 8220;restoring the constitution and making a communalism and terror-free India8221;. Organisers claimed they had invited RJD8217;s Lalu Prasad Yadav and LJP8217;s Ram Vilas Paswan but had been unable to contact SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav.

While the RJD chief expressed his inability to attend due to Chhath Puja, Paswan excused himself in the last minute citing non-attendance of any Congress or ruling party leaders. Eventually, it was an all third front show with Left leaders Sitaram Yechury, A B Bardhan and D Raja, JDS8217; H D Deve Gowda and BSP8217;s Shahid Siddiqui in attendance.

Utilising the occasion to the hilt, Yechury and Gowda said it was unfair to target a particular religion on the issue of terrorism and advocated the need for formation of a viable political alternative. Yechury even identified the main players of the alternative- the Left, the TDP, the BSP and the JDS.

Almost all the leaders of the Muslim organisations- All India Muslim Majlis Mushawarat, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Jamiat Ahle Hadees, Milli Council, Majlis Fikr o Amal, Majlis Ulema Hind and Muslim Political Council of India- were united in criticising the Congress-led Government.

8220;We are disappointed with the Government. A new realignment of forces has become inevitable now. All political parties, who stand for secularism and socialism, should think about this,8221; Taslim Rahmani, president of the Muslim Political Council, said.