Muslim Muftis offer to campaign for Shekhawat

New Delhi, June 19 (UNI) A delegation of Muslim Muftis today called on Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat offering to support his candidature in case President A P J Abdul Kalam is not in the fray.

A group of 10 to 12 Muftis led by Mufti Abdul Razak Khan, the Mufti-e-Azam of Madhya Pradesh, told Mr Shekhawat that they were aware of all the good things he had done to safeguard the interest of the minorities during his different tenures as Chief Minister of Rajasthan. They said 30 Muslim communities were brought into the Other Backward Classes list enabling them to seek education in various institutions and government employment under his Chief Minister.

In case of his contesting the Presidential polls without Dr Kalam being in the fray, the group offered to send their appeal to all Muslim MPs and MLAs in the country to extend their support to a candidate ''who had supported the Muslim cause.'' Sources said that the Mufti delegation expressed itself against the designs of ruling alliance which offered only lip sympathy to the Muslim cause without doing anything worthwhile to empower them.

UNI