JUH drive for voter I-cards to guard against NRC-like fiasco

  • | Wednesday | 19th September, 2018

It is often evident that names which were there in the voters’ list till the previous elections are not seen in the current list. Maulana Siraj Ahmed Qasmi, city president of Mehmood faction, said, “The drive was started looking into the Assam episode. The drive has been initiated to get the list updated. There are instances where only part of the members of a family are found in the list. Since voter I-card is an important document, the whole emphasis was on that.

Nagpur: In what is being termed to be an attempt to guard against Assam’s National Register of Citizenship (NRC)-like episode elsewhere in the country, Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind (JUH) — the 99-year-old body of clerics — has started a nationwide drive appealing to Muslims to get their voter ID cards ready.Pamphlets have been distributed in mosques reading “considering the current political state of affairs in the country, it is imperative to ensure that each one has a proper voter ID.” Imams of all mosques have been asked to read out the message after Friday prayers for which a large number of persons congregate.The message says, “Every adult man or woman should get enrolled in the voter’s list to be a part of the country’s democratic system. On failing to do so, they may have to face many difficulties in future. The election card not only enables one to vote but is also an important proof of nationality.”The NRC, which is aimed at weeding out illegal Bangladeshi migrants in Assam, has led to allegations of being targeted at Muslims after 40 lakh names were excluded from the draft list.Even as there has been no mention of Assam NRC in the pamphlet, state and district-level leaders of the organizations told TOI that the drive was started in view of Assam NRC development. The move, however, appears to serve a dual purpose. Apart from protecting the community members against any action for not possessing relevant documents, the move appears to be aimed at the 2019 elections too. It may be recalled that in March 2017, Jamiat had held a huge rally in Nagpur during which calls were made by individual speakers to vote out Modi regime in 2019 general elections.JUH is divided into two factions led by relatives Mehmood Madni and Arshad Madni. TOI could get in touch with the latter who confirmed of the development but said that it had nothing to do with the elections or the Assam issue. It is a regular drive taken up from time to time and is also open for members of other community, he said.However, other sources from both the factions confirmed of the Assam NRC link to the campaign. Maulana Siraj Ahmed Qasmi, city president of Mehmood faction, said, “The drive was started looking into the Assam episode. The pamphlets have been distributed throughout the district.”“The emphasis is that people of the community should possess the relevant documents which are needed to prove their identity as legal citizens of the country. Or else it may happen that they may be thrown out as illegal migrants. Since voter I-card is an important document, the whole emphasis was on that. More pamphlets with appeals to get Aadhaar card and other papers will also be issued soon,” said Qasmi.Denying any political move behind the drive, he said everyone has the right to choose the government of individual choice which is always encouraged. It is often evident that names which were there in the voters’ list till the previous elections are not seen in the current list. The anomalies need to be corrected for which the drive has been initiated.Maulana Mustaqeem Azmi, who heads Maharashtra unit of Arshad Madni faction, said there were complaints that names of entire row of houses in a locality had disappeared from the voters’ list. There are instances where only part of the members of a family are found in the list. The drive has been initiated to get the list updated. Moreover it is always advisable to get every person registered soon after turning 18, he said.

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