Rahul Gandhi Stirs Up Row Over ‘Muslim League is Secular’ Remark

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has once again stirred up a controversy, this time with his statement about the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) being a secular party. The former MP was responding to a question on the Congress alliance with the Kerala-based party during an interaction with journalists in Washington. He said the Muslim League was a “completely secular party and there is nothing non-secular about them”.

Soon, a war of words began between the BJP and Congress. “Jinnah’s Muslim League, the party responsible for India’s partition, on religious lines, according to Rahul Gandhi is a ‘secular’ party. Rahul Gandhi, though poorly read, is simply being disingenuous and sinister here…It is also his compulsion to remain acceptable in Wayanad,” said BJP’s IT head Amit Malviya on Twitter.

To this, many leaders from the Congress reacted saying the IUML was different from Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s Muslim League and was a party registered in India and is even contesting elections.

As the controversy rages, here’s all you need to know about the Indian Union Muslim League:

The party, predominantly in Kerala, is recognised as a state party with the Election Commission of India.

The IUML is a long-standing ally of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and has been part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) since it was founded on March 10, 1948.

The IUML, at present, has four members in Parliament – three in Lok Sabha and one in Rajya Sabha. In Kerala, it has 18 MLAs.

Whenever the UDF has come to power in Kerala, the IUML got plum cabinet portfolios.

An IUML MP, ET Muhammad Basheer said, “It is the BJP that is the most controversial party, getting involved in all kinds of communal agendas. They have no moral right to say anything about our party. They are a symbol of anti-secularism.”

Basheer said the IUML has been a UDF ally for long and has been in power in Kerala. “It was when I was the state education minister, the Sanskrit University was established here. So on the practical side, we have proven that we are a secular organisation. The people in Kerala know us,” he said.

The IUML MP said his party was formed after Independence and Malviya’s statement that it was part of Jinnah’s Muslim League was “senseless and has nothing to do with facts”.

Basheer further said the people of Kerala knew how cordial the Muslim League is and how it has upheld communal harmony. He added that the BJP had been trying to use this propaganda for long, but it had not had the desired effect.

He said the party has had MLAs and even district panchayat chairpersons, who are not from the Muslim community.

Senior Congress leader and former opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said he endorsed what Gandhi had said. “Jinnah’s Muslim League and the IUML are different. The IUML is working under the Constitution of India and fighting against fascist forces. If you look at the party’s candidates in the assembly and panchayats, a large number of Hindus contest under their symbol. They are working for the betterment of the country and always uphold secular credentials,” he added.

Dr J Prabhash, political analyst and former head of the political science department of Kerala University, said, “After the demolition of the Babri Masjid, there was no untoward incident in Kerala. One of the major reasons for that was the Indian Union Muslim League.”

He said Muslims were able to enter the system and the government because of the presence of the IUML. “A political party encourages people belonging to their community to have democratic and cordial relations with other communities. In that sense, I definitely feel that the IUML is a secular party.”