Didn't say Congress fanning fears about Modi: Jamiat chief Madani

Jamiat chief Mahmood Madani has denied media interpretations of his earlier words, saying that he didn’t say that the Congress was fanning fears about Narendra Modi to secure Muslim votes. [caption id=“attachment_1173565” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Mahmood Madani. Image courtesy IBNLive[/caption] In a report which appeared in NDTV, Madani is quoted from a news television interview as saying that he had been misquoted in media reports. “In the next election, political parties should not try to seek our votes by showing fear of someone, on a negative plank,” Madani is quoted as saying. Parties, he said, must instead outline their plans to ensure “equal opportunity” for the community. Earlier reports had stated that whilst at a conference on the demand for reservation for Muslims at Jaipur’s Birla Auditorium on Sunday, Madani had said there was no need for Muslims to unnecessarily fear Modi. “The Muslim community should not be scared. Secularism is deep-rooted in the country and communal forces can never win over the hearts of general public,” Madani, a former Rajya Sabha MP, was quoted as saying. “Congress should not try to get Muslim votes by creating fear about somebody. The party should look at possibilities of community welfare which they have not done so far,” he had said. Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind is an over 90-year-old organisation which works on a range of issues including social, educational and religious reform among Muslims and protection of Islamic beliefs, identity, heritage and places of worship. Madani had said the secular parties should tell what they had done for the minority community and what were their plans for the future. “For (getting justice), for equal opportunity, what is their planning?” he said. Without naming any party, he said the secular parties should tell how many promises in their manifesto have been fulfilled. With inputs from IANS