India: Political row erupts over Rahul Gandhi's ‘secular’ remark on IUML

A war of words started between Indian politicians of different parties after Indian National Congress (INC) leader Rahul Gandhi Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed that the Indian Union Muslim League "completely secular party". 

Congress party said that the party he referred to was different from the Muslim League, for which the BJP has "more love". The opposition party also recalled when LK Advani had hailed Muslim League's leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah. 

The comments were made when Gandhi was speaking during an interaction with journalists at the National Press Club in Washington DC on Thursday (June 1). 

On being asked about Congress's alliance with the Muslim League in the South Indian state of Kerala, Gandhi said, "Muslim League is a completely secular party, there is nothing non-secular about them. I think the person (reporter) hasn't studied the Muslim League." 

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders alleged that the Kerala party is guided by the same mindset which was behind Jinnah's All India Muslim League. 

But in response to that, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh tweeted, "Shyama Prasad Mookerjee was in league with the Muslim League in the government in Bengal when (Mahatma) Gandhiji launched Quit India movement. SPM was singularly responsible for the partition of Bengal." 

Further, he tagged a tweet by Congress leader Amitabh Dubey who had slammed BJP IT department head Amit Malviya for his criticism of Gandhi, saying "You're confusing the Kerala-based IUML he is talking about with Jinnah's Muslim League that took Savarkar's two-nation theory to its logical conclusion." 

Dubey said, "The same Muslim League with whom BJP founder SP Mukherjee and Hindu Mahasabha formed coalition governments in Bengal, Sind, NWFP (North-West Frontier Province)." 

Congress' media department head Pawan Khera said, "Those with entire political science (degree) should have some knowledge of the politics of their country." Khera mentioned that Muhammad Ismail, the founder of the Indian Union Muslim League, was a member of the Constituent Assembly. He said that during the war with China, his son Miyan Khan had joined the Indian Army. 

While speaking at a press conference at the AICC headquarters, Gourav Vallabh said here that the party Gandhi referred to is IUML which is a registered political party in India. 

Vallabh said, "Is a registered party in India not a secular party? Does the Election Commission get ineligible parties registered? I would like to remind the BJP that this is not the party with which Syama Prasad Mookerjee aligned to form the government in Bengal." 

He said, "That Muslim League of Jinnah is different, with which you formed the government. Rahul Gandhi has not talked about that Muslim League but the thing is that you have more love for that party, therefore, you think that the party being talked about is the one whose founder was Jinnah." 

(With inputs from agencies) 

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