Irresponsible Rahul must reveal Muzaffarnagar youths names: Fatehpuri Masjid imam

Maulana Mufti Mukarram Ahmed, the Shahi Imam of the Fatehpuri Masjid in Delhi's Walled City, on Friday described Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's statement on Pakistan intelligence approaching disgruntled Muslim youth in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, as irresponsible.

"Rahul Gandhi's statements are very irresponsible. It is already proved that Muslims have no relation, or connection with the ISI (Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence). He (Gandhi) must reveal the names of the persons, or youth who he claims are members of the ISI," said Maulana Mufti Mukarram Ahmed.

He further said that Gandhi's recent statements suggest that he was not mature minded.

"Rahul Gandhi must either reveal the names, or publicly apologize. Unless he does either, Muslims will not excuse him," Maulana Mufti Mukarram Ahmed said.

On Thursday, while maintaining his claim that the BJP has been igniting communal fires across the country, Gandhi revealed at a rally in Indore that 10 to 15 Muslim boys, who had lost their families in the recent riots in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, are being contacted by Pakistani intelligence.

"Day before yesterday, a police officer came to my office. He told me that in Muzaffarnagar there are 10 to 15 Muslim boys, who have lost their brothers and sisters in the riots. He told me that people from the Pakistan intelligence agencies are starting to talk to surviving victims of Muzaffarnagar. The police officer told me that he is trying to dissuade the youth," Gandhi said in Indore.

Targetting the BJP, the Congress number two alleged that the opposition party is solely interested in gathering votes, while it is left to the ruling party to cool down tempers that arise in the aftermath of communal violence.

Violence broke out in the Kawal area of Muzaffarnagar on August 27, when members of a community returning from a panchayat meeting in Naglabadhod, three kilometres from Kawal, clashed with members of another community.

Commenting on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who is also the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections, Mufti Mukarram Ahmed said: "Modi has an image of himself. In these 12 years after the Godhra (riots) incident, he has not taken a (single) step that shows his positive approach towards the Muslim community."

"His actions cannot be forgiven. The Gujarat situation is very different. He is not a secular person and Muslims will not support him," the Fatehpuri Masjid Shahi Imam added.