Congress leader placed under house arrest

Karwan: The Tappa Chabutra police on Sunday placed the Congress Party In-Charge for Karwan Assembly under house arrest after sensing a possible protest against the Dawat-e-Iftar being hosted by the Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao at LB Stadium on Sunday.

According to sources, Osman Bin Mohammed Al Hajri, who in the recent Assembly elections contested for Karwan seat, was placed under house arrest during afternoon hours. His house arrest is seen as a preventive measure by police officials to avoid any possibility of disturbance at LB Stadium, where grand Iftar party was being hosted by KCR.

Some sections of the Muslim leaders who termed the event as a 'tokenism' rather than a sincere effort to uplift the community have been resisting Dawat-e-Iftar, where crores of rupees are being spent from the state coffers. One of the reasons for criticism also stems from the recent incident, where GHMC allegedly razed a mosque and other religious structure at Amberpet. While it appeared that the authorities acknowledged the fault, the issue turned 'communal,' owing to involvement of non-local leaders. The matter, however, now hangs in balance.

Earlier, General Secretary of Sufi Academy Moulana Syed Taraq Quadri and President All India Sunni Ulema Board Moulana Syed Hamid Hussain Shuttari in a joint statement said that these so-called goodwill gatherings through Iftar parties are not serving any purpose, and the government was simply trying to escape from the real issues the Muslim community faces by organising the events.

"Ruling party and its allies are going for the whole hog in buying the support of the Muslims during the elections, but offering them peanuts in return after the hustling," Maulani Shuttari noted.