Mumbai: The alleged fatwas being issued from mosques in favour of Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP) candidates for Lok Sabha have snowballed into a major election issue ahead of polling for 11 seats in Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress on Thursday denied that ‘fatwas’ are being issued in their favour. They accused the BJP of making baseless allegations, which are intended to divert people’s attention from the real issues.
Some alleged ‘fatwas’, in which Muslims are being told to vote for a particular candidate to defeat “firka parast takate” (communal forces), have gone viral on social media. One such fatwa allegedly issued from a mosque in Ahmednagar, even carries a mobile number of a ‘maulavi’. The BJP and its allies have started highlighting the issue in public events and rallies.
Last week, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray raised the issue while addressing a rally in Pune for the BJP candidate. He had said that if the maulavis are issuing fatwas for Muslims, he is also issuing a fatwa asking Hindus to vote for BJP and its allies. Subsequently, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavi also backed Raj’s claim.
When asked about it, Ramesh Chennithala, All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Maharashtra, rubbished the allegations. “There is no substance in the BJP’s allegations. They (BJP) do not have any issues against us. Therefore, they are trying to divert the attention of the people on such issues. They are trying to divide people based on religion. The BJP will gain no benefit from it as the people understand their ploy,” he said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said that the days of fatwas have gone. “We have never discriminated against anyone during the pandemic at Dharavi. The whole world praised this. Gone are the days when fatwas were issued. Today, you have to show trust,” Mr. Thackeray said.
Taking a dig at the MNS chief’s fatwa, Shiv Sena (UBT) national spokesperson Anand Dubey said that he did not understand how the Hindus issue a fatwa, as it is issued by Maulanas in mosques. “The BJP is falsely claiming that Shiv Sena (UBT) is asking mosques to issue fatwas. We never indulge in such practices as we are Hindus,” he said.
However, former Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma, who is the BJP's in-charge for Maharashtra, said that Fatwas are being issued in Maharashtra from the mosques through Maulanas. “Uddhav Thackeray is getting fatwas issued (from the mosques). People are aghast to see this new avatar of Uddhav Thackeray. But fatwas are not going to help him,” Mr. Sharma said.
