Jamiat - AGP ties worries APCC

GUWAHATI, March 30: Minority department of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has been maintaining a cautious stand on the much-hyped public rally of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind slated for April 3 at Sonaram High School Field in the city.
Jamiat’s activities are always considered significant on election eve. To counter the proposed Jamiat’s rally, the minority department of the Congress is going to organize a minority conference in May, sources said.
"We are watching the situation closely," said Imran Shah, chief convenor of minority department of the APCC while talking to The Sentinel. Without mentioning anybody’s name, he said that a section of party MPs are behind the recent move of Jamiat to ‘divide the minority lobby to subserve their political interests.’
However, the situation has relatively eased after FA Golam Osmani, chairman APCC’s the minority department, received the formal invitation to attend the April 3 rally as the ‘guest of honour’ from Moulana Badruddin Azmal, State president of the Jamiat, recently.
Mr Shah said that since Osmani was in New Delhi, the letter was handed over to him by the president of Nalbari district unit of the Jamiat, Nazibuddin Ahmed. "Ahmed also informed me that the Jamiat leadership has agreed to sit together with leaders of APCC’s minority department to discuss various problems being faced by the minority community," he said.
The Jamiat has invited Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Governor Lt Gen (retired) Ajai Singh to attend the rally. According to sources, it has also invited former Chief Ministers of the State and leaders of various political parties to the meeting. Former Chief Minister and founder AGP president Prafulla Kumar Mahanta has already accepted the invitation, the sources added.
However, the minority department of the APCC is not happy over the Jamiat’s hobnobbing with the AGP. "As the AGP’s stand on IM(DT) issue is the cause of concern for the minority community, it is not clear as to why the Jamiat is going to extend its hands to leaders of the party," Shah said.
Referring to the nine-point charter of demands which are going to be highlighted by the Jamiat at its rally, Shah said that the problems of the all minority communities, irrespective of their religions and languages, have to be addressed properly.
It may be mentioned here that the minority department of the ruling party has demanded of the party high command to give tickets to minority candidates in as many as 38 Assembly constituencies in the forthcoming Assembly election. Mr Shah expressed apprehension that the Jamiat’s similar claim, if any, may create confusion in this regard.