Pressure on Cong to nominate a Muslim leader to Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: With the Council of ministers in place and the Speaker virtually a done deal, the race for Rajya Sabha seats has already begun in the Congress. There are three seats in the Congress kitty in the Rajya Sabha that have fallen vacant. And the Muslim leadership in the party is demanding that Congress walk the secular talk and nominate a Muslim leader to the Upper House.

While the party did not field any of its Rajya Sabha members in the recently concluded general elections, three exceptions were made ��� Sushilkumar Shinde from Maharashtra, V Narayanswamy from Puducherry and J P Agarwal from Delhi. All three won, resulting in vacancies.

Mr Shinde���s replacement appears to be a done deal ��� Vilasrao Deshmukh, who has been made Cabinet minister for heavy industries and need to be brought into Parliament. There appears to be no tussle for the Puducherry seat vacated by Mr Narayanswamy either.

The real problem for Congress would be to settle on Mr Agarwal���s replacement, who represented Delhi in the House of Elders. The Muslim leadership in the party is eyeing this seat. The argument proferred is that there are as many as 18 to 20 lakh Muslim voters in Delhi, who have voted for the party despite events like the Batla House encounter. The minority leadership argues that despite such steadfast loyalty to Congress, Muslims of Delhi have had no representation.

A similar demand had been made while selecting candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, but the party leadership did not acquiesce. ���If the high command felt that a Muslim candidate would not win elections and therefore could not be fielded, we understand. But now they can give us the Rajya Sabha seat, that way Muslims will have representation,��� a senior Muslim leader of Congress said.

Claiming a stake on the Rajya Sabha seat is former MP and minister, Jagdish Tytler. He had to, under intense pressure and protest from the Sikh community, relinquish his candidacy for the northeast parliamentary constituency of Delhi. Though Mr Tytler has been assured some form of reinstatement, some party leaders are doubtful if it will be in the form of a Rajya Sabha seat. ���It would be a betrayal of the people. The party took away his ticket because of protest from Sikhs. The leadership should not bring him into Parliament through the back door,��� a party functionary said.

The Muslim leadership says it has an edge, in the form of discontent that only two Muslims from Congress have been include in the council of ministers. A section of the party is of the view that the Congress will be inclined to cap the rumblings by giving the ticket to a Muslim leader.

There are already as many as four Muslim leaders from Congress who have thrown their hat in the ring. Imran Kidwai, who heads the minority cell in the AICC and is former Union minister Mohsina Kidwai���s brother, has set his sights on the Rajya Sabha. Other contenders include Delhi Minorities Commission chairman Kamal Farooqui, AICC secretary Anees Durrani, who is a Muslim leader from Delhi and AICC secretary Parvez Hashmi.