A scapegoat for poll debacle? Uttarakhand Congress leader Aqueel Ahmed expelled  for six years

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand Congress vice president Aqueel Ahmed has been expelled from the party on Monday for six years for continuously giving 'unnecessary statements' to the media. 

State general secretary (organization) Mathura Datt Joshi in his letter on Monday to Ahmed stated, "The statements made by you repeatedly during the Assembly election through electronic, print, and social media fail to adhere to the stature of your post. The image of the party was tarnished because of your statements. Earlier, the party had sent you a show-cause notice on February 8 warning you to not make any such statements. The central leadership has taken seriously the fact that you continued to make the statements of such nature via electronic, print and social media."

During electioneering for the recently concluded assembly polls, Ahmed had promised that the Congress party would help set up a Muslim University if elected to power. 

The BJP stoked the issue and had blamed Congress for appeasement.

In February this year, a war of words broke out between the Bhartiya Janta Party and the opposition Indian National Congress over the formation of a Muslim University in Uttarakhand once the Congress forms government in the state. 

Congress leader from Sahaspur constituency in Dehradun district Aqueel Ahmed had said that he had urged the senior party leaders including former CM Harish Rawat to form a Muslim University in the state so that the students of the community can get a better education. 

Uttarakhand has a total of 14% Muslim population.

Following this, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had launched a scathing attack on Congress saying that the party has always been involved in appeasement and never cared about people.

UP CM Yogi Adityanath who also campaigned in Uttarakhand for the BJP, in his public rally in Tehri accused the Congress of ignoring the state and focusing more on establishing the 'Muslim University' in the state.

"The Congress wants to make a Muslim University in the state. Meanwhile, the BJP government of Uttarakhand has worked for the people of the state. The state government has worked in the areas related to tourism, employment and checking migration from the state," said Yogi Adityanath. 

Recently, former CM Harish Rawat accused his fellow Congress leaders from Uttarakhand of having supported the person who brought up the issue and inflicted damages to the poll prospects of the party in the state assembly elections.

On Monday, Rawat also said that he will quit active politics if it is established that he ever talked about Muslim University in Uttarakhand.

Congress could win only 18 seats in the 70-member assembly with Rawat himself losing from the Lalkuwa seat. Rawat had reportedly blamed Aqueel Khan for the party's loss in the elections.