The announcement of 2019 Lok Sabha Election dates is now causing new dispute among minorities. Muslims are outraged over conducting LS polls during the Ramzan period. They claimed that the government is trying to make Muslims stay away from the booth deliberately.
Union Minister Ravi Shanker Prasad reminded people how by-elections for Kairana parliamentary seat last year happened during Ramzan. He said that many elections have been conducted during festivals and asked people to stop being desperate. He also reminded about Holi coming during elections this year.
West Bengal’s 31% of Muslim voters are worried that they will have to face trouble, managing both Ramzan preparations and exercising their vote rights. Some political leaders have stood against the idea of the Election Commission’s decision and demanded that it should consider people’s request over changing dates.
However, the election commission announced that the main festival date has been excluded from the poll days and one should not worry over that. But a full month cannot be excluded, it confirmed.
Asaduddin Owaisi, the leader of AIMIM, said that the whole debate is unnecessary. He said, ‘ I request political parties and other communities that please do not involve Muslims and Ramzan for whatever reasons you have’. He said that it is an insult for Muslims to say that Ramzan will affect the voting.
He ensured that Muslims do their daily routines even in Ramzan. They go to offices, They eat, they work. How can Ramzan show an impact on voting, he asked. In contrary to that, Trinamool Congress leader Firhad Hakim said that the ruling party doesn’t want minorities to cast their votes.
