Muslims seek justice from Sonia

Mumbai, Feb 2 (IANS) Upset that only a few Muslims had been given ticket to contest the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election, a Muslim body Thursday sought justice from Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

The Jamiat Ulema Hind said in a letter to Gandhi that the Congress had fielded only 15 Muslims -- of the 169 seats it will contest from the total of 227.

But the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), fighting 58 seats as a Congress ally, has put up 13 Muslim candidates, Jamiat president Gulzar Azmi said.

"This shows a clear disparity... As a senior partner with more seats, we expected the Congress to accommodate more Muslim candidates," Azmi said.

He pointed out that the Samajwadi Party, going alone in the BMC polls, had fielded four dozen Muslims of the 69 seats it will contest.

Azmi pointed out that Muslims had traditionally supported the Congress and such poor representation conveys "a wrong message".

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