Ahead of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2022, Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan, chief of the Ittihad-e-Millat Council today extended his support to the Congress in the state. Addressing the media, the Ittihad-e-Millat Council party chief said that he feels that only Congress can ensure the development of the Muslims.
#WATCH | Ittihad-e-Millat Council party chief Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan has announced to support Congress in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2022. (17.01) pic.twitter.com/5eCCXdUs2b
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) January 18, 2022
In a press conference with UP Congress chief Ajay Lallu, Khan assured full support to the grand old party in the UP elections 2022. He said that only Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were ‘secular’ leaders and that Muslims would stand by the party in the state. This is after Khan had a meeting with Priyanka Vadra and declared that he would not contest from his party in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. The UP Congress tweeted the photograph of Khan and Priyanka Vadra and confirmed that Ittihad-e-Millat Council had extended its full support to the Congress.
BJP slams Congress for seeking support from hate-monger Maulana Tauqeer Razan Khan
The Bharatiya Janata Party meanwhile has slammed the Congress party for endorsing hate monger Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan who had warned Hindus. The BJP on Tuesday questioned the ‘secular credentials’ of the Congress for sharing the stage with a controversial Muslim cleric, Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan.
BJP’s spokesperson Sambit Patra said that Maulana is the same person who was spewing venom against Hindus a few days ago. “Maulana had said that if law and order come in the hands of their soldiers, then Hindus will not even get a place to live in India. He had also said that the maps of India would be changed. This is the height of hatred”, Patra said.
कल मौलाना तौकीर रजा खान ने कांग्रेस को अपना समर्थन दिया।
— Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) January 18, 2022
ये वही मौलाना हैं जो हिंदुओं के खिलाफ जहर उगल रहे थे की अगर कानून व्यवस्था उनके जवानों के हाथ में आ जाए तो हिंदुओं को हिंदुस्तान में रहने की जगह तक नहीं मिलेगी।
वे ये भी कहते हैं कि हिंदुस्तान का नक्शा तक बदल देंगे। pic.twitter.com/gepVsKfeYe
He also hit out at the Congress stating that possibly the hatred speech by Maulana in Bareilly was pre-decided between the Congress and Ittihad-e-Millat Council chief at the meeting.
बीतें दिनों मुलाकात..
— Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) January 18, 2022
क्या इसी मुलाकात के बाद मौलाना तौकीर रजा ने कहा की हमारे लड़ाको ने अगर कानून अपने हाथ में ले लिया तो हिन्दुओं को देश में रहने की जगह नहीं मिलेगी..और हिंदुस्तान का नक्शा बदल देंगे!@priyankagandhi आप तौकीर रजा खान के साथ भारत का कौन सा नक्शा बदलना चाहती है? https://t.co/Jvy18GUVM4
Taking to Twitter, BJP’s Shehzad Poonawalla also claimed that Congress was hand-in-glove with Hindu hate-mongers and the party’s true character stood exposed. “Rahul Gandhi claims to be the biggest Hindu during elections! His party has embraced someone who warns of Hindu genocide! Tauqeer Raza was sharing the platform with Congress UP president and has been taken on board to replace Imran Masood?”, he said.
“Congress party always practices the politics of dividing, abusing and threatening Hindus, polarizing the Muslim vote bank and then taking their votes. The true character of Congress stands exposed today. Incite riots, provoke the vote bank, abuse Hindus and then earn votes. This is the strategy of the Congress party. Therefore, they have taken the support of Tauqeer Raza,” he added.
#HateHypocrisy | ‘Congress ka hath hatred aur naffrat ke sath’, this has been proven without doubt; Every time somebody spews venom against Hindus he gets a platform from Congress: Shehzad Poonawalla, National Spokesperson, BJPhttps://t.co/aPPzyh3Ybj pic.twitter.com/hUx2pqfeL7
— Republic (@republic) January 18, 2022
On January 8, Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan had provoked Muslims against Hindus in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district. While addressing a crowd of 20 lakh Muslims, the radical Islamist had brazenly threatened Hindus in India that the day Muslims rage flares, they would have nowhere to escape.
#Breaking | #HindusWarned
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) January 7, 2022
’20 lakh Muslims listening … I’m afraid my Hindu brothers, if my youth takes law into their hands, you won’t find any place to hide in India’, Maulana Taukeer Raza Khan over the ‘Dharam Sansad’ controversy.
Amir Haque & @RShivshankar with analysis. pic.twitter.com/IYZpkopPvu
“I see the anger within my Muslim youths and I am afraid that the day this anger bursts out, the day I lose control over them… I want to warn my Hindu brothers that I’m scared that the day my Muslim youths are forced to take the law into their hands, you will not find a place to hide anywhere in India”, he had said while displaying his extreme hate for the Hindus.
Congress’ old association with the Muslim cleric, had fought 2009 Lok Sabha elections together
It is important to note that Congress had allied with Maulana Tauqeer Raza also in 2009 despite his habits of issuing threats to anyone he thought was insulting Islam. The party had in 2009 announced that the All India Ittihad-e-Millat Council has agreed to support Congress in the Lok Sabha elections, and in return, the council would have a seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress in 2012 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
It was reported that the Maulana belongs to the Barelvi sect which is close to Congress. At that time, Maulana had claimed that he was allying with Congress because he felt the need to strengthen the ‘secular forces’ in the country.
