Expelled Team Anna member Qasmi resurfaces to oppose Kejriwal

New Delhi: The Team Anna led anti-corruption movement was at its height when its sole Muslim member, Mufti Shamoon Qasmi had stormed out of a core committee meeting and was subsequently expelled for “surreptitiously recording the deliberations of the meeting”. Qasmi had at that time accused Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, who were key members of Team Anna, of ‘hijacking’ the anti-corruption movement for ‘personal gains’. [caption id=“attachment_1433131” align=“alignnone” width=“300”] AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal. PTI[/caption] At a time when there are growing murmurs of dissent within the party over senior Aam Admi Party (AAP) members being ignored or overlooked for tickets, Qasmi today to launched yet an another attack on Kejriwal for his ‘gimmicks’ to win over the minority community. A media briefing that was expected to be on the ‘Muslim agenda and AAP’ quickly turned into a Kejriwal-centric tirade by Qasmi. Criticising Kejriwal’s Gujarat tour as an emotional ploy to win over the Muslims ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next month, Qasmi said, “By going to Gujarat, visiting mosques, Kejriwal is trying to play the emotional card. Had he worked for the community or given space to Muslims in the party, I would agree that he was doing good work. But now he is indulging in the same kind of politics that other parties have indulged in. He is playing with the feelings of people. If Muslims get fooled by him it will be unfortunate.” Qasmi’s public opposition to Kejriwal follows indications from within the Muslim community about AAP’s emergence in Delhi as the best bet, after Congress party’s decimation in the Assembly elections, to counter the Modi factor. Asked about the political options before Muslims in Delhi at a time when anger and disillusionment with the Congress party is also very high, Qasmi said, “Muslims should vote for a party that is good for the country. There are good candidates in every party…It is not my wish that that Kejriwal loses but that he mend his ways.” He criticised AAP for not having a Muslim face or a policy for minorities. But even as he vowed to expose the ‘true Kejriwal’, he said he would “accept” Kejriwal if he gave space to Muslims in his party. “Why should Muslims vote for him? The party has no Muslim face. It doesn’t have a policy. Forget a minority policy, AAP does not have a policy for the country. I appeal to Muslims to recognise Kejriwal for who he is. He will take your vote, but he will not deliver what he promised you. Do not waste your vote. But if he changes his ways and says that he will accommodate Muslims, we will accept him.” From Bijnour in Uttar Pradesh, Qasmi is general secretary of the All India Imams organisation, which claims to be an umbrella group of 5 lakh Imams in the country. A social activist, Qasmi is also vice-president of Delhi-based Foundation for Religious Harmony and Universal Peace.