Srinagar: Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) politician, who is now a part of Peoples Conference (PC) Imran Raza Ansari’s statement has generated a strong response online.
With netizens using a hashtag #NotMyRepresentative, many have criticised Ansari for claiming to be a representative of the Kashmiri Shia Muslim Community.
Respected @imranrezaansari
You may represent a voter. Not a devotee. You may represent a group of needy voters. Not the faith of devotees.#NotMyRepresentative— Saif Ali (@saifali2784) November 24, 2018
Fortunately , we have no political representative of shias in current time. All political faces across JK are #NotMyRepresentative
— Sajjad Kargili (@sajjadkargili) November 25, 2018
Addressing a press conference, Ansari who sat besides PC Chairman Sajjad Lone, questioned the source of multiple houses Abdullah family owns across the world.
“Who was Sheikh Abdullah? A teacher from Soura. What did Omar Abdullah inherit from his grandfather?” Ansari asked.
“Today Abdullah family owns a house in London, a house in south France, a house in New Delhi, and a house in Gurgaon besides the houses at Gupkar road. Omar and Farooq Abdullah have two to three luxuries cars worth crores of rupees and wear clothes worth lakhs. In Delhi they are referred to as ‘Sheikhs of Kashmir’ and they own property worth thousands of crores. Where did all that money come from? It is the proverbial rags to riches story.”
Referring to the accusation against him of looting banks, he said, “as a businessman I have kept my property as a mortgage against the bank loan,” adding that he ‘belongs to a family’, and that he “represents a community where his followers gift him anything from Rs 10 to Rs 10 lakh”.
This comment has particularly angered many who have taken to the social media to express their displeasure over the comment.
One online poll which has garnered over 1500 responses, has an overwhelming majority of people reiterating that they do not consider Imran Ansari as a representative of the Shia Muslim community of Kashmir.
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I am a #Kashmiri #Shia and #ImranAnsari does not represent my community.#Notmyrepresentative
— Mirza Arsalan Rafiq (@MirzaArsalanr) November 25, 2018
#NotMyRepresentative Imran Ansari is pretending to be a religious head and representative of Shia community, he’s mere a Self styled cleric and is using Shia word along with few Bhakts for his personal benefits. He’s not representing Shias.
— اعجاز احمد (@ajkmr18) November 25, 2018
He is the leader of donkeys ,only brainless idiots follow him ,he values poultries and hatcheries more than the universities and colleges ,he is a usurper usurping public land with his trained jahil army ,he is a personality among the hacked heads #NotMyRepresentative
— you z (@zaman_umake) November 24, 2018
“By Allah’s grace I am a Shia, but my representative is my Grand Leader, Syed Ali Khamnai (M.Z.Z). I am proud this Grand Ayatollah is my representative. Respected Imran Raza Ansari #NotMyRepresentative,” another netizen wrote on twitter.
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