A section of Muslim religious and political leaders in Karnataka on Thursday accused the Congress of acting arbitrarily against minority leaders and risking wider alienation within its support base in the wake of developments linked to the by-elections in South Davanagere.
The party’s recent actions could alienate the Ahinda alliance, which has been pivotal to the Congress’ electoral strength in the state, Mufti Iftikhar Ahmad Qasmi, president of the Karnataka unit of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, said at a joint press conference organized by the Karnataka Ulama. He claimed that the decisions were taken without due process. “Before taking any action, a show-cause notice should have been issued and an explanation sought. Instead, action was taken unilaterally,” he added.
These statements come in the wake of the dismissal of MLC Naseer Ahmed from the post of political secretary to Prime Minister Siddaramaiah and the expulsion of MLC Abdul Jabbar from the party’s primary membership. Jabbar had earlier resigned from his post as president of the minority wing of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee after Deputy Chief Minister and state party president DK Shivakumar accepted his resignation.
Qasmi alleged that Abdul-Jabbar was pressured to resign before his dismissal and questioned the rationale behind the action taken against Naseer Ahmed.
He also raised concerns over the lack of action against senior Congress leader Chamanur Shivashankarappa, who he said campaigned for BJP candidate P Raghavendra in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “Wasn’t this an anti-party activity?” he asked.
Qasemi said repeated calls to nominate a Muslim candidate were ignored despite the presence of a large minority of voters. He said: “Although we obtained about 80,000 votes, we were deprived of representation,” objecting to the selection of candidates from political families.
Representatives of Karnataka scholars said they raised the issue with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge on March 20 and later discussed it with AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala at MLA Rizwan Arshad’s residence. They said earlier assurances had been given that the matter would be looked into.
“We were assured that the matter would be discussed with the Prime Minister and the party high command. But the announcement of a candidate from the same family came as a shock,” they said.
Religious leaders also cited post-election polls from the 2023 General Assembly polls, which indicated strong support from minority communities, especially Muslims, for the conference. They said there was now a growing perception that the party was taking this support for granted.
The Scholars Association said that it will conduct consultations within society to determine future steps to protect its interests.
Separately, Afreen Khan, who served as vice-president of the Youth Congress in Bengaluru North, criticized his expulsion, noting that he had already resigned earlier in April. “I resigned from the Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress on April 4. But today I was expelled,” he said in a social media post.
Afreen Khan had earlier posted comments criticizing Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad in connection with the by-elections. Youth Congress president Manjunath Gowda issued the expulsion order.
These developments come amid reports of disciplinary action against several Muslim leaders in the party and speculation about further action, including possible action involving BZ Minister Zamir Ahmad Khan. Some leaders have claimed they are being selectively targeted, warning that the party could face consequences in the 2028 elections.
Meanwhile, PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Thursday said he would soon meet state president DK Shivakumar, to discuss the action taken by the party against some minority community leaders in connection with allegations of internal conspiracy in the South Davanagere poll.
“Let’s see. I will meet the party state president and discuss the matter. Because the wrong message should not go out that after Valmiki, the Muslim community is now being targeted. Let’s see,” Jarkiholi said in response to a question on whether those close to CMC Dharamaiah were being targeted – after Rajanna, now Naseer Ahmed and Abdul Jabbar, and next will be Zamir Ahmed Khan. I will meet the head of the party state and discuss the matter. Because the wrong message should not go out that after Valmiki, the Muslim community is now a target. “I will meet Shivakumar and discuss this.”
