Mehbooba Mufti writes to Rahul, urges him to raise ‘targeting' of Muslims in Parliament

Indian Express

7 days ago

Referring to him as a 'rare source of hope for the forgotten and voiceless', former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti on Monday urged Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi to raise the issue of 'victimisation, dispossession and disempowerment' of Muslims in the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament.
In her letter, Mufti said that the Muslims of India chose to remain in the country due to their faith in the Congress leadership and it was Gandhi's 'responsibility to defend them'. 'The Muslims who chose to remain in India during Partition did so because of the faith they had in the secular leadership of the Congress, from Mahatma Gandhi to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Today, as the bearer of that legacy, the responsibility falls on your shoulders to uphold and defend the secular and democratic values enshrined in our Constitution,' the letter read.
Pointing out that issues like the horrific Pahalgam attack, Operation Sindoor and other critical security matters were expected to dominate discussions in Parliament, the PDP chief wrote, 'I sincerely hope the Opposition, especially the INDIA bloc, raises the growing concern of Muslim victimisation across the country.'
Referring to the 'targeting' of Muslims and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar, Mufti said the community is being pushed into 'desperate situations'. 'Under the pretext of targeting 'Bangladeshis' and 'Rohingyas', Muslims are being pushed into increasingly desperate situations. Disturbing media reports have even suggested that some were forced into the sea in attempts to expel them from India. As you rightly highlighted during your visit to Assam, the large-scale demolition of thousands of Muslim homes is deeply troubling. The latest development the SIR being conducted in Bihar appears to be yet another systematic effort to dispossess, disempower, and ultimately disenfranchise Muslims, effectively erasing their presence both symbolically and literally,' she said in the letter.
The former CM said while India rightly expresses rage over the treatment of Hindu minority in Pakistan and Bangladesh, there is 'complete silence' when Muslims are targeted in our country. 'There is an unsettling silence, a fear that prevents many from speaking up. As a politician from one of the only Muslim-majority regions that chose to join the Indian Union largely due to the vision and secular character of your great-grandfather, I feel extremely helpless at times. Placing great hope in your leadership I urge you to continue speaking up for a minority that is being steadily marginalised and pushed to the fringes of Indian society,' she said.