JAIPUR: Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind chief Syed Mehmood Madani on Monday accused the Congress party of creating a Modi bogey to spook the Muslim voters into backing the party in the 2014 election. He asked Muslims not to be scared of the Gujarat chief minister being BJP’s prime ministerial candidate .

“The Muslim community should not be scared. Secularism is deep-rooted in the country and communal forces can never win over the hearts of general public,” said Madani. He was speaking at a conference on the demand for reservation for Muslims at Jaipur’s Birla Auditorium. Madani, a former Rajya Sabha MP, warned the Congress of backlash from Muslims in the upcoming assembly elections in five states.

“Congress should not try to get Muslim votes by creating fear about somebody. The party should look at possibilities of community welfare which they have not done so far,” he added.

The Jamiat leader accused both the Congress in Rajasthan and the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh of failing to protect Muslims. “Muslims were at the receiving end during the riots at Muzaffarnagar in UP and Gopalgarh in Rajasthan. The respective governments failed to read the communal undercurrents and act,” Madani said.

The statement comes two years after Maulana Ghulam Ahmed Vastanvi was forced to quit as Darul Uloom Deoband vice-chancellor over his comments about the positive impact of Gujarat’s development's on the state’s Muslims. The remarks were construed as praise for Modi, widely accused of complicity in the 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom. Madani and supporters were believed to have orchestrated the campaign against Vastanvi, the first Gujarati to be nominated for the post, as they feared his elevation could weaken the family’s traditional hold over the influential western Uttar Pradesh seminary.

On Monday, Madani also alleged the Ashok Gehlot government was unfriendly to Muslims as five years of his rule witnessed several incidents of atrocities in places like Gopalgarh, Surval (Sawai Madhopur) and Tonk.

He also raised the issue of Ajmer Dargah blast and criticized investigative agencies for slow pace of probe. “Muslims will answer to every injustice meted out to them by voting judiciously in favour of right candidates and right party,” Madani said.