Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], March 25 : Rajasthan Muslim Alliance president Mohsin Rashid on Wednesday requested the Congress leadership to nominate jailed activist and former JNU student leader Umar Khalid to the Rajya Sabha from the state.
Citing a lack of Muslim representation from the state in Parliament and Khalid's track record as an educated youth leader, Rashid emphasised that legal charges should not disqualify him.
"Our demand is that if you look at Rajasthan, for decades, there has been no Muslim representation, neither in the Lok Sabha nor in the Rajya Sabha. In the last Lok Sabha elections, there were 50 candidates, 25 from the BJP and 25 from the Congress, and both sets were entirely Muslim-free; not a single Muslim was included. At that time, the Muslims of Rajasthan hoped that in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, a Muslim would be sent," Rashid told ANI.
Defending Khalid, he futher said that the Indian Constitution allows those framed under charges to contest elections until they are proven guilty in a court of law. He cited examples of leaders like Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
"Khalid, we know there are charges against him. However, having charges is one thing; the Indian Constitution allows that until those charges are proven, you are not a criminal. There are charges against many others, like Yogi Adityanath, Kuldeep Singh Sengar, Chinmayanand, and Anurag Thakur, yet they were contested in elections and sent to the Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha, and Assemblies," said Rashid.
He stated that Umar Khalid is educated and should not be dismissed due to the charges against him.
"Our demand is that Umar Khalid is an educated, young candidate. He has raised his voice for Muslims on every critical issue. He is the kind of educated person who should not be ignored just because of charges. Just as the Congress brought Kanhaiya Kumar and other youth into the main leadership. Bring leaders who have struggled at the ground level into the mainstream. We hope that, since a Muslim needs to be chosen from Rajasthan, why not make Umar Khalid the candidate?" Rashid said.
He said that Congress itself believes that a person shouldn't be cast out of society simply because charges were levelled against him.
"Moreover, top Congress leadership, including Digvijaya Singh and various lawyers, have raised their voices against the injustice done to Umar Khalid. I believe the Congress itself feels that a person shouldn't be cast out of society simply because charges were levelled against him," he said.
Rashid said that, amid an ongoing political shift where many top Congress leaders are joining the BJP, there is no chance of such a thing happening with Umar Khalid.
"Furthermore, we see many top Congress leaders joining the BJP. Recently, some Congress MLAs even voted in favour of the BJP. There is almost zero possibility of such a thing happening with Umar Khalid. We believe he is a candidate who will go to the Rajya Sabha and genuinely raise ground-level issues, including those related to Muslims, without being bought by or fearing the BJP. This is our basic principle for making this demand," said Rashid.
He shared that this is not just a political demand but a demand from the entire Muslim community of Rajasthan.
"I do not hold any official post within the Congress. I am the State-in-Charge and Active President of the Rajasthan Muslim Alliance. I want to clarify that this is not just a political demand; it is a demand from the Muslims of Rajasthan. We vote for Congress. We support the Congress despite being targeted, and this is the Muslim community's demand to the party. We hope the Congress views this as a legitimate demand from the community and considers it positively," Rashid added.
Umar Khalid has been in jail since 2020 in connection with the Delhi riots case.
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