Kalaburagi North MLA Kaneez Fatima on Tuesday criticised BJP candidate Umesh Jadhav for visiting the former Minister Late Qamarul Islam’s grave recently and called it a publicity stunt.
Addressing presspersons at her residence here, Ms. Fatima said that Mr. Jadhav’s impromptu visit to the late Congress leader’s grave a couple of days before filing his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha elections from Kalaburagi seat, was an attempt to appease the Muslim voters in the constituency.
Ms. Famita recalled that Islam campaigned for Mr. Jadhav when he contested on Congress ticket from the Chincholli Assembly constituency for the first time in 2013. Slamming Mr. Jadhav as “selfish and opportunistic”, she said that he [Mr. Jadhav] later “turned his back on me when I was contesting from Kalaburagi North Assembly constituency, which Islam represented six times.” “We have launched a door-to-door campaign in Kalaburagi North Assembly segment to ensure a high percentage of voting,” Ms Fatima added.
Mr. Jadhav and the BJP cannot fool the voters with such sentimental tricks. “Though some groups of people were working overtime to polarise Muslim votes in Kalaburagi North Assembly segment, we won’t let that happen,” Ms. Fatima said and exuded the confidence of Congress leader M. Mallikarjun Kharge winning with a landslide margin in the Lok Sabha constituency.
Asked about the recent attack on the former KUDA chairman Mohammad Asgar Chulbul, she said that Mr. Chulbul was trying to tarnish the image of Islam. He was indulging in personal attacks, so Islam’s supporters attacked him, she added.
