BENGALURU: Within days of exposing Congress veteran C.K. Jaffar Sharief for his attempt to secure ticket for his grandson Abdul Rahaman Sharief, Janata Dal (Secular) patriarch H.D. Deve Gowda hauled his party legislator and former minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan over the coals for his tacit support to the Congress candidate in Hebbal Assembly constituency but clarified that no disciplinary action would be initiated against him.
“I do not know if Mr Zameer is in the Congress or Janata Dal (Secular). He has no moral right to participate in any of our party functions,” Mr Gowda told the media on Tuesday adding that former minister, who at one point escorted Mr Rahaman Sharief to Janata Dal (Secular) office for the party ticket, was now levelling allegations against him through advertisements released in Urdu.
Though Mr Zameer Ahamed Khan evidently heeded to pleas from prominent Muslims not to campaign against Mr Sharief, the former prime minister accused Mr Sharief of always helping the Bharatiya Janata Party win the elections.
“Mr Sharief's moves have always favoured the growth of BJP. Even when I was the Prime Minister, there was an opportunity to destabilize the BJP government in Gujarat. I do not want to talk much about the episode but let Mr Sharief recall what happened,” Mr Gowda added.
Recalling how Mr Sharief let down leaders of Janata Dal (Secular) after picking up the ‘B’ and assuring that he would contest as Janata Dal (Secular) candidate from Mysuru parliamentary constituency in 2013, Mr Gowda said he had not yet forgotten that episode but attributed the victory of Bharatiya Janata Party candidate to the former Union minister’s absence from the fray. “There is no need for Mr Sharief to talk lightly about me. Even I can talk about a lot of issues. If he thinks that Muslim votes are in his control and he can politically finish me, he is wrong,” Mr Gowda added.
On his part, Janata Dal (Secular) general secretary Mr Zafarulla Khan said the Congress fielded a Muslim candidate only after his party decided to issue the ticket to a Muslim.
“This is a ploy by Congress leaders to divide votes of Muslims. Islam asks people to be loyal to the place where they belong to. Mr Zameer Ahamed will be in the party and will not campaign for the Congress,” he added.
