Sheikh says the community has no issues with Gandhi’s temple run. He also realises the Congress’ dilemma, that if the party talks about Muslims, the BJP will exploit voters with the Hindutva agenda. In 2007, Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s “maut ke saudagar (merchants of death)” barb on then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi boomeranged in the assembly elections. The representation of Muslim legislators in the Gujarat assembly came down from 12 in 1980 to just two in 2012. P (Patidars) has replaced M (Muslims) in their KHAM strategy ….Let’s see if it works,” says Anwarhusen Sheikh.

Source: Hindustan Times November 03, 2017 11:15 UTC