It seems that the Congress is trying to make the arrest of terror suspect Muslim youths an emotional issue to woo the community to regain it traditional vote bank in the next Assembly elections.
At the minorities convention here on Sunday, senior Congress leaders raised the issue of the arrest of young men on charges of supporting terror activities.
The leaders stressed that ‘innocent people’ have been arrested by the police following the ‘’instruction of the state BJP government’’.
KPCC president Dr G Parameshwar and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah charged the government with abusing police machinery to arrest the youths as terror suspects.
They promised that the Congress, if voted to power, will stand by the community and ensure that no innocent person faces harassment. Parameshwar urged Muslims to get rid of the mindset of being second rate citizens as they have a great role to play in nation building.
Union Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily alleged that the BJP government infused the communalism even in security matters.
“We will protect the rights of Muslims,” he said, adding that the emotional bond between the Congress and the community has always been apolotical.
Union Minister for Minorities Affairs Rahman Khan said he will soon speak to the Union Home Minister and request him to evolve a law to ensure that innocent people do not suffer any more at the hands of a communal system.
Former union minister C K Jaffer Sharief also raised the issue of the youths’ arrests but asked the community not to concede to aggression. “The Congress too should realise that it should not make emotional promises but should make those which can be implemented practically,” he added.