Mumbai Congress releases booklets on 'corruption in BJP'
Mumbai, June 11: A day before Congress President Rahul Gandhi's visit to Maharashtra, the Mumbai Congress on Monday released booklets "exposing deep-rooted corruption" in the state's ruling Bharatiya Janta Party-Shiv Sena combine.
The booklets detail alleged scams against several state government ministers worth hundreds or thousands of crores of rupees while the common people continue to suffer.
Releasing the booklets, Mumbai Congress President Sanjay Nirupam listed the names of Women & Child Welfare Minister Pankaja Munde in the Rs 206 crore Chikki "scam", Cooperatives Minister Subhash Deshmukh in the Rs 110 crore Lokmangal "scam" and Housing Minister Prakash Mehta in the Rs 500-800 crore FSI "scam".
The list includes Education Minister Vinod Tawde in the Rs 191 crore fire extinguisher "scam", Food & Civil Supplies Minister Girish Bapat allegedly involved in a Rs 4,000 crore "scam", and Tribal Development Minister Vishnu Savara in the Rs 300 crore employment department "scam" and the Rs 6,000 crore raincoats "scam".
"These figures show that it is only the government which is living 'achhe din' they promised to the people and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is refraining from taking any action against the corrupt," Nirupam said.
Other booklets include alleged corruption at the centre and the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), controlled by the ruling ally Shiv Sena.
Nirupam said the BMC claims to have spent Rs 2,605 crore on waste management, Rs 3,311 crore on health, Rs 2,311 crore on education, Rs 5,061 on water supply and Rs 3,286 crore on roads and skywalks, but sought to know the "actual amounts spent on development as the Mumbaikars continue to suffer".
"Corruption is the mutual belief shared by the BJP leaders at every level. It is extremely disheartening to watch the innocent people who voted form them in the past are now paying the price. We plan to create awareness among the people about such corrupt leaders.." he told media persons.
On the Narendra Modi-led Central government, he noted that the Prime Minister has spent almost Rs 4,300 crors on publicity alone and "clearly, this amount has been used to hide all the wrongdoings of the BJP government".
The booklet details other failures of the Central government like the lowest agricultural growth (1.9 percent) under the BJP compared to 4.2 percent during the Congress rule, failure in waiving off farm loans, continued scams in banks, soaring fuel prices, ineffectiveness in controlling Maoist attacks and the growing violence against the scheduled casts and others in society.
On Tuesday, Gandhi will arrive for a court hearing in Bhiwandi, Thane in a defamation case filed by a RSS worker and later address a rally of over 16,000 booth-level Congress workers in Mumbai.
This will mark the launch of a national endeavour, 'Project Shakti' by which the Congress President will establish direct communication between the grassroots workers and the party's central leadership.
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Will not tolerate bias of Congress anymore: Muslim organisations of Karnataka slam party
Bengaluru: Representatives of leading Muslim organisations, associations and unions from across Karnataka have issued a strong and sharply worded joint statement, declaring that the Muslim community “will no longer tolerate” what they described as the biased attitude of the Congress party towards the community and its leaders.
The organisations said the united support extended by Muslims in the state was the main reason for the Congress party coming to power. However, they alleged that the party and its government are not treating Muslims with dignity, and that there is growing anguish within the community over being repeatedly insulted by denial of proper representation in political appointments and key positions in the bureaucracy.
Referring to the Davangere by-election and recent developments, the statement said the Congress party appears to have sent a clear message to Muslims: “You are merely a vote bank for us. Your job is only to vote for the Congress party. Positions, status, representation and opportunities in the party are alms that we give. If you question your rights or the injustice done to you, disciplinary action will be taken.”
The organisations said this approach is unacceptable and warned that the community will no longer remain silent. They questioned the party’s disciplinary actions against certain Muslim leaders, asking what action had been taken in similar situations in the past involving others. “Otherwise, a serious question arises as to whether the party’s disciplinary rules are applicable only to one community,” the statement said.
Calling the issue one of dignity, the organisations said it is not just about a few individuals but concerns the entire Muslim community. They criticised the Congress for taking unilateral decisions without consulting religious and social leaders and said such actions cannot be justified as mere political decisions.
The statement also accused the party of portraying Muslims as being wrong for asking for fair representation. It said it is not fair to expect the community to campaign for the party without giving them tickets that should have been given fairly, and then initiate disciplinary action on what were described as trivial grounds. The organisations termed the attitude of “you should have simply obeyed what we said” as highly condemnable.
They also expressed concern over what they described as attempts by the party leadership to pit leaders of the Muslim community against each other. At the same time, the statement criticised certain leaders within the community for choosing to pursue personal interests instead of standing firmly against what it called discriminatory policies.
Drawing a comparison, the organisations said that when leaders from some communities commit even serious mistakes or make direct statements against the party, no action is taken and they are instead rewarded. “But if leaders from a particular community deviate even slightly from the party’s diktat, they are subjected to severe punishment this is not fair, this is not acceptable,” the statement said.
Warning of political consequences, the organisations said such discriminatory behaviour will harm the Congress party in the coming days and could lead to a serious setback. They said Muslims had supported the party to ensure a secular government based on constitutional values and to prevent divisive forces from gaining power. However, treating this support as a weakness and assuming that the community has no alternative would prove “politically very costly” for the party.
The organisations strongly condemned what they termed as mistreatment of the community in the name of political calculation and demanded that such unilateral decisions be stopped. They also called for the present decision to be reconsidered.
The statement was issued by a wide group of leaders and organisations, including Maulana Syed Tanveer Hashmi, President, Muslim Muttahida Council, Vijayapura; Abdul Khadeer Saheb, President, Shaheen Group of Educational Institutions, Bidar; Maulana Shabbir Ahmed Nadvi, President, Welfare of Humanity Foundation, Bengaluru; K. S. Mohammed Masood, President, The Muslim Central Committee, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi District and former President of the State Minorities Commission; Haji Mohammed Hanif, General Secretary, The Muslim Central Committee, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi District; Muhammad Maula, President, Udupi District Muslim Okkuta; Yaseen Malpe, Immediate Past President, Udupi District Muslim Okkuta; Maulana Abdul Raqeeb MJ Nadvi, General Secretary, Majlis E Islah Wa Tanzeem, Bhatkal; Ashraf Ali Basheer, Convenor, Muslim Voice of Karnataka, Hubballi; Dr Abdul Kareem, former President, Karnataka State Minorities Commission, Hubballi; K. Ashraf, President, Dakshina Kannada District Muslim Okkuta; Muhammad Hanif, Secretary, Dakshina Kannada District Muslim Okkuta; Maulana Abdul Azeez Darimi, Leader, Sunni Yuvajana Sangha Karnataka; Haji Abubakar Nejar, District President, Sunni Samyukta Jamaath, Udupi District; Mohammad Rafiq, District President, Karnataka Muslim Jamaath, Udupi District; Rafiuddin Kudroli, President, Uniwef Mangaluru; Kasim Shuaiburrahman Qureshi, President, All India Jamiatul Qureshi, Karnataka; Afzal Mahmood, Secretary, Karnataka Muslim Political Forum, Gulbarga; Jabbar Kalaburagi, President, Karnataka Muslim Unity, Bagalkote; Nisar Ahmed, State Coordinator, Eddelu Karnataka, Mangaluru; Naqwa Yahya Malpe, President, Namma Naada Okkoota, Udupi District; Afsar, President, Karnataka Souharda Okkoota, Mandya; Advocate Abdul Jabbar Gola, Vice President, Joint Action Committee, Gulbarga; Advocate Anshad Palya, State Committee Member, All India Lawyers Association, Karnataka and Leader, Hassan District Muslim Organisations Federation; Haji Suleiman Saheb, President, Thirthahalli Taluk Joint Muslim Federation; and Mujahid Pasha of Al Jamaatul Quraish Trust, Basavakalyan.
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