The Mamata Banerjee-led-Trinamool Congress has recently announced its list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, with one of the candidates being Islamist Shahnawaz Ali Raihan from Malda South constituency in West Bengal. Despite the TMC highlighting his education at Oxford University, Raihan has been criticized for his radical Islamist views and downplaying of terror activities.
The TMC candidate has been known for spreading misinformation about India, such as during an interview with Turkish State-owned media ‘TRT world’ where he fearmongered about the country and accused the government of curtailing press freedom. Raihan has also been seen participating in anti-CAA protests in London, where he raised controversial ‘Azadi’ slogans.
Furthermore, Raihan has made false claims about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and has repeated Pakistani talking points on Kashmir. He has also been associated with Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO), a student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, with the goal of converting people to Islam.
Raihan has also been pictured at events organized by the ‘Human Welfare Foundation’, an NGO that was raided by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection to a terror funding case. Additionally, a video from 2015 shows Raihan downplaying the deadly 2014 Burdwan blast and suggesting a conspiracy by anti-terror organizations.
In a video posted in February 2020, Raihan claimed that the RSS and BJP were running a terror network in the country, labeling them as a ‘terrorist party’. His controversial statements have raised concerns about his candidacy in the upcoming elections.
Image Source: Opindia
