Am I being targeted only because I'm a Muslim, asks Congress MLA Zeeshan Siddique

Congress MLA Zeeshan Siddique asked on Thursday if he was targeted in the party because of his religion. Siddique's statement comes a day after he was removed from the post of President of Mumbai Youth Congress on February 21.

Hitting back at the grand old party, Siddique said whatever was happening with minorities in the party was unfortunate.  He said he will continue to be with the Congress party but will keep his options open.

"The amount of communalism which is there in Congress and Mumbai Youth Congress is not there anywhere else. Is it a sin to be a Muslim in Congress? The Party has to answer; am I being targeted only because I am a Muslim?" Siddique asked.

Zeeshan's father Baba and joined Ajit Pawar faction NCP earlier this month. Zeeshan is a Congress MLA representing the Vandre (East) assembly seat of Mumbai and is also rumoured to be leaving the party like his father.

The Congress party on February 21 issued a statement stating that it was removing Zeeshan as Mumbai Youth Congress President. In response, Zeeshan said the Congress had been unfair to Muslim leaders, adding that in spite of being elected president of the Youth Congress, he had personally received no communication from the party about his removal.

“I was not nominated to the post. I won the election and got 90,000 votes," he said.

Zeeshan also alleged that Congress had his hands tied and that it looked like Rahul Gandhi's team was on payroll of other parties to finish Congress. "During Bharat Jodo Yatra in Nanded, I was told by one of the persons close to Rahul Gandhi that I should lose 10kg of weight and then he would make me meet him," he alleged.

Zeeshan's father was welcomed by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister who presented him with a