Cong gearing up to storm MIM bastion

• Party leaders deride MIM for betraying the trust reposed in it by the minority community
• Understanding between the Congress and the MIM came in the way of strengthening the party base in Old City, repent Cong leaders

Hyderabad: Expressing confidence of winning the forthcoming elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Monday urged the party cadre to launch an aggressive campaign in the MIM-dominated Old City areas.

Addressing a meeting organised by Greater Hyderabad Congress Committee (Minorities Cell) at Banjara Function Hall here, Uttam Kumar Reddy expressed regret for not focusing attention on strengthening party's base in the Old City because of party’s alliance with the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen.

"In all previous elections, we had a secret alliance with the MIM. We used to field candidates only to benefit MIM and not to win the elections. However, this arrangement only strengthened the MIM and we lost our base," confessed Uttam Kumar Reddy.Accusing MIM leaders of resorting to opportunistic politics, Uttam Kumar Reddy said the MIM had sailed with the Congress party for 10 years and now aligned with the TRS after the latter came to power.

"We will not commit previous mistake. As the TPCC president, I assure you that we will not have any alliance with the MIM in future. Speaking on the occasion, Leader of Opposition Mohammed Ali Shabbir said MIM had been trying to harm the Congress party across the country.

He said only the Congress party was capable of fighting communal forces at the national level and parties like MIM with one MP and a handful of MLAs could cause more harm than good. Stating that the people of Old City were forced to live in deplorable conditions, he said that the Congress party had entrusted the job of serving the people to the MIM leaders. However, they neither served the people nor did they remain loyal to the Congress party.

Shabbir Ali also expressed concern over rising communalism under the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre. Referring to the remarks made by Noble Laureate Amartya Sen, he said the BJP was pursuing the communal agenda by saffronising the education through NCERT. He accused the MIM of supporting the BJP by dividing secular votes in different parts of the country. He said that the Bengaluru voters had rejected the MIM in the recently held municipal elections and the party's candidates were unable to secure their deposits.

AICC Secretary Moulana Syed Taher Dehelvi also accused MIM of sabotaging secular forces across the country by fielding its candidates. He alleged MIM's entry into Bengaluru elections ensured BJP's victory as Congress had lost elections on many seats with small margins. Further, he alleged that MIM was planning to help the BJP win in Bihar elections by fielding its candidates.

GHCC Minority Cell Chairman Shaik Abdullah Sohail listed out the failures of MIM and also accused it of taking religious institutions, including Jamia Nizamia, into hostage. He questioned as to how Syed Akbar Nizamuddin could head both, interest-based Darulsalaam Bank and also Jamia Nizamia.

He said that the Congress workers would gherao Darulsalaam Bank if Akbar Nizamuddin failed to relinquish his post as the head of Jamia Nizamia. He also demanded CBI probe into the accounts of Darulsalaam Bank while accusing it of handling benami accounts and black money.