PEOPLE MUST UNITE TO SAVE COMPOSITE CULTURE: NOMANI
VARANASI: Mufti-E-Shahr Banaras (Varanasi) Maulana Abdul Batin Nomani feels none of the political parties comes forward or unites when it is time to deliver in the interest of Muslims.
“Modi’s image is clear after the Gujarat riots. Hence both people and political parties need to unite against Modi to save the traditional bond between Hindus and Muslims but none of the parties has taken up the idea till now,” he told Hindustan Times on Saturday.
He said backtracking by Quami Eakta Dal candidate Mukhtar Ansari was seen as the first move which did not hold significance unless other parties picked up the idea of supporting a candidate unanimously. Maulana Batin said peace-loving people of both communities in this historic city wanted to oppose destructive forces. “If Modi wins, it will be a defeat of the peace -loving people here.”
Upset with the way Muslim voters were treated, the Maulana said political parties had been treating them as a ‘herd.’ He said this election was historic for Varanasi, for people had a fair chance of getting rid of problems such as poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition and unemployment, something that successive candidates had offered them in return for their votes.
“This time we have some fresh faces as candidates who I feel might turn out to be saviours of our cultural heritage,” he said, in reply to a question on Arvind Kejriwal, who had met the Maulana during his visit to Varanasi in March.
Traditionally, several businesses in the holy city are run with the joint efforts of the two communities. Muslim weavers make sarees but trade is mostly in the hands of the other community. The profit is, however, shared by both the communities. Statistically, Varanasi parliamentary seat consists of roughly 3 lakh Muslim voters (among the total 1609460 votes) that is decisive if united.