Yatnal accused of having business ties with Hashmi family

NT Correspondent

Vijayapura/Belagavi: The controversy surrounding BJP MLA Vijayapura Basangouda Patil Yatnal accusing Muslim religious figure Tanveer Hashmi of having contact with the banned group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has come back to haunt him as it is being reported that he had business ties with the family of the person he accused.

Congress on Friday went to town with the report which first appeared in Kannada daily 'Praja Vani'. Hashmi, his family members and Yatnal are said to own the ‘Tourist Hotel’ near Gandhi Chowk in Vijayapura city.

In fact, the two even share a neighbourhood on the outskirts of city near Mahal Ainapur village, which is located on the VijayapuraKalaburagi National Highway.

Yatnal had alleged on Wednesday at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had shared the stage with Tanveer and others who had received funds from Pakistan, besides having links with ISIS.

However, the pictures Yatnal shared didn’t show Hashmi with terrorists but rather public figures in Iraq. Since then, Siddaramaiah has dismissed Yatnal as a “great liar” who practises “anti-minority politics”.

On Friday however, the CM sought to press Yatnal on the alleged business ties and the fact that Hashmi had been reportedly pictured with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders.

Seeing it as a chink in the armour, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) spokesperson SM Patil Ganihar addressed a press conference, asking Yatnal to come clean on the business ties and resign as MLA.

He also demanded that the state government act against Yatnal for “unsubstantiated” allegations against the CM.

Karnataka Rakshana Vedike District Unit President MC Mullah went a step further and told mediapersons that Yatnal had been on good terms with Hashmi prior to the allegations.

“Yatnal had been very close with Hashmi. I’ve received both Tanveer Hashmi and Yatnal at my house during the election. We even had a meal together. They have shared a dais on several occasions,” Mullah said.

Other local leaders from Vijayapura district, both from the realm of politics and civil society have come down heavily on Yatnal for “spreading hatred” against Muslims.

They reckoned that Yatnal had been miffed with Hashmi because the latter backed Congress’ candidate from Vijayapura Abdul Hameed Mushrif in the Assembly polls this past May.

Yatnal ended up winning the seat by a small margin. Hashmi owns the Al Hashmi Educational Welfare and Charitable Trust, which provides Islamic and secular education, besides heading other organisations and holding responsibilities in the community.