If Yatnal cannot prove my links with terrorists, will he go to Pakistan? Sayed Tanveer Hashmi
BJP leader Yatnal had accused AIMPLB member Hashmi of being ISIS sympathizer
Bengaluru: In what has turned into a major controversy, former Minister and senior BJP leader Basanagouda Patil Yatnal has stirred controversy by leveling serious allegations against Sayed Tanveer Hashmi, also known as Tanveer Peera, a prominent Sufi and spiritual leader from Bijapur Sharif, a Sufi shrine in Karnataka.
Yatnal, via his official Twitter account, accused Hashmi of being a terror sympathizer with alleged links to terrorist groups. The BJP leader further implicated Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, claiming he shared the stage with Hashmi during a conference of Muslim scholars in Hubballi, thereby implying the Chief Minister's association with ISIS supporters and terror sympathizers.
In a tweet, Yatnal said, "Chief Minister Siddaramaiah shared the dias with ISIS supporters and Terror Sympathizers yesterday at Hubli. Tanveer Peera is a Terror Sympathiser who has links with Terror Outfits across the Middle East." He called for intelligence agencies and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to investigate Hashmi's accounts and recent visits to the Middle East, sharing images of Congress leaders, including Siddaramaiah, with Hashmi, insinuating Congress's alignment with terrorists.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah shared the dias with ISIS supporters and Terror Sympathizers yesterday at Hubli.
— Basanagouda R Patil (Yatnal) (@BasanagoudaBJP) December 6, 2023
Tanveer Peera is a Terror Sympathiser who has links with Terror Outfits across the Middle East.
Attached Images are his recent visits to the Middle East meeting the… pic.twitter.com/zvuwBNWXRn
Yatnal also attached some of the images of Hashmi meeting Arabs, claiming that he was “meeting the Terror Sympathizer and Radical Islamic Operatives.”
#CongresswithTerrorists pic.twitter.com/BBL1K9oIJH
— Basanagouda R Patil (Yatnal) (@BasanagoudaBJP) December 6, 2023
Rejecting the allegations, Syed Tajuddin Qadri, the organizer of the conference, questioned Yatnal's motives and urged him to present evidence to the police rather than making baseless claims on social media. Qadri said that Hashmi, a Sufi scholar, had a clean record, including organizing the 2016 Sufi World Conference attended by Prime Minister Modi.
“Tanveer Hashmi is not just a scholar. He is a Sufi. Making baseless allegations like this in public is not right. In 2016, he was one of the organisers of the Sufi World Conference. Even PM Modi had attended that conference, why was Yatnal silent then? Why didn’t he speak then if what he is saying is true?” Qadri told reporters on Wednesday.
“Hashmi had even attended an event recently to mark Kanaka Jayanti. He is someone who is above the religious lines. He comes from a reputed family, he was born in Vijayapura and has been involved in several social work and services. To defame a person like that with baseless allegations is not right,” Qadri said.
Hashmi himself vehemently denied the allegations, challenging Yatnal to prove them within eight days. He expressed readiness for any investigation into his links and finances, asserting his commitment to opposing and condemning terrorist activities worldwide. Hashmi questioned the authenticity of the attached photos, explaining they were from his visit to a shrine in Iraq, not a meeting with terrorists.
Sayed Tanveer Hashmi
“I am ready for any kind of investigation into my links and finances. I have nothing to hide and I challenge Yatnal to prove my links with terror outfits and his allegations within eight days. Will he go to Pakistan if he fails to prove his allegations? I challenge him,” Hashmi said.
“I have been opposing and condemning terror outfits and their activities across the world. The allegations Yatnal is making is baseless and absurd. He has attached photos stating that it was from my meeting with terrorists. Its funny that those photos have been taken from my own Facebook account. It was from my visit to Iraq to a shrine in 2013. The officials of Iraq government and the chief priest of the shrine are the people in the photos, not terrorists.
Asked about his next course of action, Hashmi said his team was exploring legal action and a team of lawyers was looking into the matter. He said they were mulling strict legal action against Yatnal for his allegations.
Amidst the controversy, pictures of Hashmi with Union Minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari surfaced on social media, indicating that leaders from both the Congress and BJP had visited Hashmi.
Tanveer Hashmi, belonging to the Hussiani Hashmi Family, is a patron of various academic, social, and religious activities of Sufi Sunni Muslims in India. Recently appointed as the President of Jamaat E Ahle Sunnat, Karnataka, he also leads the Al Hashmi Educational Welfare & Charitable Trust, providing Islamic and formal education. Hashmi is the President of the Muslim Muttahida Council (MMC), a consortium of Muslim organizations, and a member of the Muslim Personal Law Board.
In response to the allegations, Hashmi expressed his commitment to social work and services, mentioning the broad spectrum of political and social leaders who visit the shrine for blessings, including Yatnal during his JD(S) days.
“When Yatnal was in JD(S) he himself used to regularly visit our shrine and meet me. After joining BJP, he stopped. Several political and social leaders visit our shrine to take the blessings,” Hashmi said.
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Rahul Gandhi to attend caste census meeting in Hyderabad today
Hyderabad (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi would attend a meeting organised by the party's Telangana unit here on Tuesday related to the caste survey initiated by the state government.
According to the schedule given to the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee, Gandhi would arrive here at 4.45 pm by a special flight from Fursatgunj Airport in UP.
The Leader of Opposition in Lok would directly proceed to Gandhian Ideology Centre at Bowenpally here and participate in State Level Consultations on Caste Census till 6.30 PM, TPCC sources told PTI.
Later, he will fly back to the national capital.
According to TPCC president B Mahesh Kumar Goud, the state unit would organise the meeting to take suggestions from stakeholders on the caste survey.
The state government has begun the exercise to conduct the comprehensive socio, educational, economic, employment, political and caste survey as per the promise made by Rahul Gandhi before last year's assembly polls.
The survey would begin on Wednesday.
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