Chairman of Islami Sangh Nepal, Nazarool Hasan Falahi, alleged that Madhesi parties only used the Muslims as a vote bank just as the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML did in previous elections. “Both mainstream national parties and Madhes-based parties appear biased against Muslims. Neither the political parties representing us, nor the state have shown any initiative to ensure our proportional representation in state structures,” he complained. “We are conscious of our rights. No one should take us for granted now.” [break]
According to the national census in 2011, the Muslim population stood at 4.2 per cent of the total population of the country. As Muslim votes play a decisive role Tarai-Madhes, all the major parties -- UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress, CPN-UML -- and Madhes-based parties including Madhesi People´s Rights Forum-Nepal (MPRF-N), MPRF-Democratic and Tarai Madhes Democratic Party, are wary of losing this vote.
Falahi also complained that the political parties had not heeded their demands, such as the demand for the formation of a Muslim League and a Haj Commission and the introduction of Muslim Personal Law within Nepal´s cultural and social context.
“We will first look at the manifesto of each political party to see if it addresses our demands. We want guarantees that our demands will be met,” he added.
Muslims in Nepal have, among other things, demanded national recognition to Muslim festivals and the formation of a Muslim Personal Board, which will be a dispute resolution mechanism as per the Muslim religion.
General Secretary of MPRF-Republican, Eqbal Ahmed Shah, vented his ire against political parties that promised to meet their demands, but failed to live up to expectations.
“The Madhesi parties proved to be no exception. They could secure the post of deputy prime minister by stepping on the bodies of 54 martyrs. But they could not do anything substantive to meet our demands,” he said. “We can no longer afford to be just a vote bank for cunning politicians.”
Whether mainstream national and Madhes-based regional parties would be able to appreciate their demands would largely determine the Muslim vote in the upcoming CA poll, say the Muslim leaders.
“The important thing that we will look for is whether each of the parties seeking our vote has filed candidacies of Muslims proportionate to their population, both under first past the post and the proportional electoral systems,” another Muslim leader told Republica, preferring anonymity.
Not all political parties can be accused of being insensitive towards the rights of the Muslim minority, argues MPRF-D Vice-chairman Nasir Siddiqui. “But the other parties have only paid lip service to the Muslim cause. There is a big gap between what they say and what they do,” he said adding that MPRF-D was the only party with a Muslim in its central committee.
Meanwhile, MPRF-Nepal central committee member Mohammad Istiyaq Rai claimed that the party´s gathering held in Janakpur in August 2007 had already incorporated Muslim issues in the party´s official documents. “Our party gave due heed to the concerns of Muslims in our election manifesto for the previous CA election,” he said.
Political Analyst CK Lal says all political parties including Madhes-based ones have largely failed to address the concerns of Muslims and other minorities. “These parties do not seem to be serious enough. They will pay a price if they continue to ignore the issues of Muslims and minority groups,” he added.
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