Mehbooba Mufti Urges Rahul Gandhi To Speak Out Against Muslim 'Disempowerment'

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New Delhi: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti has urged Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi to speak out against the ongoing “disempowerment” of Muslims in India.

In a letter addressed to Rahul Gandhi, Mehbooba called on him to raise his voice in Parliament against what she described as the "systematic marginalization" of Muslims across the country.

Citing recent events, including the Pahalgam attack, Operation Sindoor, and alleged forced displacements in Assam and Bihar, Mufti claimed these incidents reflect a larger pattern of state-sponsored targeting of the Muslim community.

She expressed serious concern over the labeling of Muslims, especially in the northeastern and eastern regions of India, as “Bangladeshis” and “Rohingyas” to justify their eviction and harassment.

Referring to media reports, Mufti highlighted large-scale demolitions of Muslim homes and the use of “Special Investigation Reports” (SIRs) in Bihar, which she alleged are being misused as tools for collective punishment.

“This silence is an attempt to erase the Muslim presence, both symbolically and literally,” she warned.

Mufti also accused the political establishment and mainstream media of exhibiting selective outrage, raising voices over the persecution of Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh, while remaining silent on the alleged targeting of Muslims within India.

This selective empathy, she cautioned, undermines the secular and democratic fabric of the nation.

Invoking the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, she urged the Congress party to stay true to the constitutional values they championed. She appealed to Rahul Gandhi to use his position and moral responsibility to “break the silence” and ensure the concerns of the Muslim community are not ignored during the ongoing Parliament session.

“As a politician from a Muslim-majority region, I often find myself helpless,” she wrote, adding that she placed her “last vestiges of hope” in Rahul Gandhi’s leadership to reverse the tide of what she described as growing alienation and exclusion.

The letter comes as the opposition INDIA Bloc prepares to corner the BJP-led government on a range of issues during the Monsoon Session, including the state of civil liberties, communal polarisation, and rising incidents of violence.

While Congress has yet to issue a formal response, political observers view her letter as both a plea and a challenge to the national opposition to show greater courage and consistency when it comes to the rights of India’s largest minority.

(With inputs from IANS)