On Wednesday, February 21, the Congress party Zeeshan Siddique was removed from the post of Mumbai Youth Congress president. Today (Saturday, February 23), the ousted Congress youth leader hit back at the grand old party accusing it of having a discriminatory approach. He said the party mistreats leaders from minority communities.
In a media conference, Zeeshan Siddique said that he was body-shamed as he was asked to shed 10 kgs before he could meet Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
“Mallikarjun Kharge is such a senior leader but even his hands are tied…Rahul Gandhi is doing his work, but it looks like his team has taken ‘supari’ from 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..” said Siddique.
#WATCH | Zeeshan Siddiqui, former Mumbai Youth Congress President says, "Mallikarjun Kharge is such a senior leader but even his hands are tied…Rahul Gandhi is doing his work, but it looks like his team has taken 'supari' from other parties to finish Congress. During Bharat… pic.twitter.com/wK7uLxwx0J
— ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2024
“The treatment being meted out to minority leaders and workers in the Congress is unfortunate. The extent of communalism in the Congress and Mumbai Youth Congress is unlike anywhere else. Is it a sin to be a Muslim in the Congress? The party has to answer why am I being targeted? Is it only because I am a Muslim?” Siddique added.
BJP slams Congress after the party removed Zeeshan Siddique from his post
The Bharatiya Janata Party has hit out at the Congress party after it removed Zeeshan Siddique from the post of Mumbai Youth Congress president.
Slamming the Congress party, BJP Party leader Shehzad Poonawalla said that the grand old party may project for the vote bank and for appeasement’s sake that it is with the minorities. But actually, it has done the most damage to minorities.
“Today Zeeshan Siddiqui has spilled out the beans which was told by me six-seven years ago that Congress is the most anti-Muslim party. It may project for the vote bank and for appeasement’s sake that it is with the minorities. But actually, it has done the most damage to minorities. Today Zeeshan Siddiqui is facing it himself. We have seen that Congress allowed riot after riot to be orchestrated. Congress party used to say that Uddhav Sena is responsible for the Mumbai riots but today they have allied with them because Congress hates Muslims,” he said.
“They only keep them as their vote bank. In Congress, apart from ‘Parivaar’, nobody can take decisions. What Zeeshan is facing today, Congress leaders had been facing for a long time because Rahul Gandhi is promoting such a culture,” Poonawalla added.
#WATCH | On removal of Zeeshan Siddique as the president of Mumbai Youth Congres, BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla says, "Today Zeeshan Siddiqui has spilled out the beans which was told by me six-seven years ago that Congress is the most anti-Muslim party. It may project for the… pic.twitter.com/ch8TZTiFUe
— ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2024
Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi equating him with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
Reacting to the claim made by former Mumbai Youth Congress president Zeeshan Siddique, the Assam CM posted on X, “The only other person, I can think of, who makes such ridiculous demands from his party workers – that they should look nice and photogenic – is a dynast who rules North Korea.”
The only other person, I can think of, who makes such ridiculous demands from his party workers – that they should look nice and photogenic – is a dynast who rules North Korea. https://t.co/sAlcMoOwPQ
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) February 23, 2024
Zeeshan Siddique is the son of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique and a first-term MLA for Bandra (East), a suburban area of Mumbai.
Days after his father left the party to join the National Congress Party (NCP), which is run by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Siddique was dismissed from his position as president of the Congress party’s Mumbai youth wing.
Media reports suggest that the Congress leadership had information that Zeeshan, is likely to defect to the NCP (Ajit Pawar) and hence it removed him.
On Thursday, February 21, a day after being ousted, Zeeshan stated that there is no value for Muslims in Congress. He said Muslims were targeted in Congress and there was no secularism in the party anymore. He said there was communalism in the Youth Congress. He added that he would talk to his supporters and search for options in other political parties.
