Ashraf's somersault as Cong leaders dole out assurances

Mangalore, October 15: The much publicized rebellion of Congress city block president K. Ashraf has fizzled out with the party highcommand mollifying the former mayor and assuring him of” immediate action” on the issues raised by him.

Ashraf, the third-time corporator, had mounted a fresh spell of revolt against the party by announcing through text messages that he would convene a press meet on Friday and announce his resignation from the primary membership of the party.

However, he cancelled his press meet in the nth minute and enacted another somersault by saying that he had been given concrete assurances by the party leadership that he would not be “victimized” in a case related to drug cartel, in which his 18-year-old son's name had figured prominently.

The parents of an alleged drug victim had accused Ashraf's son Araf and his friends of coercing her to consume banned substance and some organisations had even launched an agitation demanding action against the alleged culprits.

With his son's name being dragged into the alleged drug abuse case, Mr. Ashraf, along with some Congress leaders, had met the commissioner of police Seemant Kumar Singh a couple of months ago and clarified that his son is being fixed in the case by his political adversaries.

He had even pointed fingers at some elements within the party of hoisting the girl's parents against him to settle political scores. Ashraf, who represents Kandak ward in the MCC, had seen this “campaign” as a continuation of the vendetta politics practiced by the Janardhana Poojary group in the Congress ever since he was appointed as the city block president earlier in the year.

He had been keeping a low profile amidst the storm that beset his personal life, but with the police swinging into action once again by filing an FIR against his son and few others for allegedly threatening the drug victim girl inside a hospital and slapping cases of molestation attempt, threat and trespassing.

“This is a ploy to finish my career and tarnish my image. I am fed up of this politics. The party colleagues could not come to my help. I will fight this battle at a personal level and seek justice,” Mr. Ashraf had said after the text messages of his impending resignation were circulated to the media.

But the next morning, there had been a climb down in his stance, apparently after his 'threat' of resignation swung the DCC into action. The press conference was called off without any notice. A spate of phone calls from party higher-ups about his concerns being attended to calmed down the rebel in Ashraf, who rose through the ranks over the last two decade.

A delegation led by DCC president Ramanath Rai met the police commissioner and impressed upon him to revisit the case and not to yield to any pressure from any quarters. “I got assurances from leaders from Moily to Oscar. Neary 20 corporators contacted me and pledged support. They assured me that they will take up the issue with the leaders and ensure that justice is delivered. I have decided to continue and work as the party functionary in order to respect their views,” he said.

Former mayor Shashidhar Hegde, corporator Ashok Kumar were also present during the talks. “How can they file an FIR without the hospital lodging any formal complaint of trespassing? Why did the police not conduct any investigation before filing the FIR. How can they just file a case without verifying the veracity of the complaint?” asks Ashraf.

He has also demanded a thorough investigation into the entire episode starting from the allegations of the alleged attempt to kidnap the drug victim girl to the alleged attack in the hospital. “If my son is found guilty let he be punished as per the law,” he said.