Congress MLA Zeeshan Siddique asked on Thursday if he was targeted in the party because of his religion. Siddique’s statement comes a day after he was removed from the post of President of Mumbai Youth Congress on February 21.
Hitting back at the grand old party, Siddique said whatever was happening with minorities in the Congress party was unfortunate. He said he will continue to be with the Congress party but will keep his options open.
“The amount of communalism which is there in Congress and Mumbai Youth Congress is not there anywhere else. Is it a sin to be a Muslim in Congress? The Party has to answer; am I being targeted only because I am a Muslim?” Siddique asked.
Zeeshan’s father Baba Siddique quit the Congress and joined Ajit Pawar faction NCP earlier this month. Zeeshan is a Congress MLA representing the Vandre (East) assembly seat of Mumbai and is also rumoured to be leaving the party like his father.
The Congress party on February 21 issued a statement stating that it was removing Zeeshan as Mumbai Youth Congress President. In response, Zeeshan said the Congress had been unfair to Muslim leaders, adding that in spite of being elected president of the Youth Congress, he had personally received no communication from the party about his removal.
“I was not nominated to the post. I won the election and got 90,000 votes,” he said.
Zeeshan also alleged that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had his hands tied and that it looked like Rahul Gandhi’s team was on payroll of other parties to finish Congress. “During Bharat Jodo Yatra in Nanded, I was told by one of the persons close to Rahul Gandhi that I should lose 10kg of weight and then he would make me meet him,” he alleged.
Zeeshan’s father Baba Siddique was welcomed by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar who presented him with a garland that included the party’s symbol on February 13. Baba Siddique had said he was asked to join the party by NCP leader Praful Patel.
A three-time MLA from the Bandra West constituency, Baba Siddique was the former minister of state for food and civil supplies. He was also chairman of the Mumbai division of Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority.
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Published: 22 Feb 2024, 09:29 PM IST