Shams Ahsan

Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH — The Congress party has never used Muslims as its vote bank unlike many other political parties, asserted Mohammad Khaleequr Rahman, a Congress worker and member of the Andhra Pradesh Waqf Records Computerization Project.



In an interview with Saudi Gazette, he said that the Congress has always been treating Muslims as stakeholders.



He said that the sincerity of the Congress toward the minority communities can be determined from that fact that it was the Congress party that appointed the Sachar Committee to prepare a report on the social, economic and educational condition of the Muslims of India and the Ranganath Misra Commission to recommend practical measures for the welfare of socially and economically backward sections among religious and linguistic minorities.



“From the Sachar report we realized that Muslims were more backward than the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). But the SCs and STs have been enjoying the reservation policy and they have progressed because of reservation,” Khaleequr Rahman said, adding, “If the Congress was not sincere toward the minorities — especially the Muslims — it would not have taken the risk of appointing the Sachar committee and the Mishra commission, and assessed the situation and then presented the reports before the people.”



Talking about the digitalization project of waqf properties, he said that the project, which started in 2011, will help stop irregularities. “It is becoming an important database, and once the entire thing is digitalized then nobody can tamper with waqf properties,” said Khaleequr Rahman, who is actively involved in his home state’s waqf records digitalization project.



According to the Sachar Committee report, there are about 500,000 registered waqfs with 600,000 acres (2,400 km2) land in India. Many of these properties are being misused or sold or encroached upon. Khaleequr Rahman thinks that it is the responsibility of the Muslims themselves to sincerely, honestly and with pure conscience look after these endowments.



He believes such a database would put a stop to all the shenanigans of waqf board members because “the records are there.”



Previously they had the opportunity to physically remove or distort the records of a particular endowment and nobody would notice it. “It was all the result of the real estate boom, and greed too was a factor. But with this program there’ll be no hanky-panky in the Andhra Pradesh waqf records now,” Khaleequr Rahman said, while taking a dig at Telugu Desam chief Chandrababu Naidu on his digital revolution of Hyderabad.



“He brought Microsoft to Hyderabad, he brought major players in computer world to the city, he made Hyderabad a foremost computer hub in the country, he digitized the government processes — all great, but why did he miss digitizing the waqf records.”



The answer, he said, is simple: The real state of the real estate deals would be revealed.



Coming to the issue of politics, he categorically denied that former Indian cricket team captain and Member of Parliament Mohammed Azharuddin would be fighting the next election from Hyderabad constituency against Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen’s Asaduddin Owaisi.



“Azharuddin is very comfortable in Moradabad. I am personally aware about the developmental activities that he has done in Moradabad. When the people of Moradabad love him, when the people of Moradabad have accepted him and when he has done so much for his constituency, why should he go to any other constituency?” asked Khaleequr Rahman, who is married to Azharuddin’s sister and has been an election strategist for him.



He also strongly believes that the Congress-led government will complete its full five-year term.



“I can’t think of any reasons why elections would be advanced. No one is prepared for an early election. Everybody wants the full-term to be completed because it will be like a five-day Test match ending on the fourth day.”



He also swept aside the results of a number of surveys done in India, which show the Congress losing power.



“I don’t believe in all those surveys. Sometimes these are paid surveys. It may marginally affect the voters’ mind, but voters have become very wise. They proved this in the recently concluded Karnataka elections.”



But corruption was a major factor behind BJP’s defeat in Karnataka. Will corruption play a major role in parliamentary elections also?



“Corruption is not going to affect the Congress,” said Khaleequr Rahman, declaring, “Congress is committed to fight corruption.”



Khaleequr Rahman, who calls himself a youth Congress worker and holds Rahul Gandhi in high esteem, says the young vice president of the party is committed to work for the common man. “He is not interested in posts. He is interested in working on all issues which are affecting the interest of the common man.”



“When Rahulji became the general secretary of the party he wanted to completely change the set-up of the party and bring in more youngsters by revamping the NSUI (the National Students’ Union of India, which is a student wing of the Congress), and the Youth Congress. That is where we started the democratization process. Elections were held in NSUI and the Youth Congress.”



Further praising Rahul, Khaleequr Rahman said that his style of functioning is totally different. “He wants to revolutionize Indian politics and wants to connect with the common man.”



So is he going to be projected as the next prime minister?



Khaleequr Rahman’s reply is no different from that of any Congress party leader or worker: “Rahulji is our leader. Congress is a very democratic party. It has never projected anybody as a prime ministerial candidate. The Congress parliamentary board will elect the leader and decide. The Congress will not impose anyone.”