Congress demands thorough probe into Baba Siddique's murder

The Congress on Sunday demanded a thorough investigation into NCP leader Baba Siddique's murder and said Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis should take moral responsibility for law and order failure and resign.

Sixty-six-year-old Siddique, a former Maharashtra minister, was waylaid by three men at Kher Nagar in Mumbai's Bandra area just outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique's office and shot dead on Saturday night.

The Congress alleged that the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra has failed to provide protection to its own leaders and to the people of Mumbai who feel scared.

Such killings show that the law-and-order situation in the state has failed, the opposition party said, claiming that the government was trying to postpone the election dates somehow through these incidents.

"It is a Government that is on its last legs. With this, the countdown for its exit has begun," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on X.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi said the Maharashtra government must take responsibility and order a thorough and transparent investigation.

"The tragic demise of Baba Siddique ji is shocking and saddening. My thoughts are with his family in this difficult time. This horrifying incident exposes the complete collapse of law and order in Maharashtra. The government must take responsibility, and justice must prevail," Gandhi said on X.

"Justice must be ensured, and the present Maharashtra Govt must order a thorough and transparent investigation. The culprits must be brought to book at the earliest. Accountability is paramount," Kharge posted on the social media platform.

Ramesh said, "Today, the Maha Vikas Aghadi released a chargesheet against the Mahayuti Government, aptly titled 'Gaddarancha Panchnama'."

"This is a Government which was formed on betrayal, which has sold out Maharashtra's interests shamelessly, and which has sullied the ideals and legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj himself," he added.

Congress leader Imran Pratapgarhi, a Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra, said the truth should come out and the culprits should be punished.

"Such a crime on a day of the festival shows that police and law and order have failed and it shows the complete failure of the home minister," he said.

"Maharashtra home minister should take responsibility for this and resign. Our condolences are with Baba Siddique's family in this hour of grief. The murder of a high-profile person like Baba Siddique is a serious thing and condemnable," Pratapgarhi said.

"A high profile leader associated with the government is murdered in public. This shows that the government is unable to protect its own leader. Today in Maharashtra, women, children, leaders, and businessmen, all are unsafe.

"Law and order has reached its lowest ebb. The responsibility for this lies with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis," he said.

If the government is unable to provide protection to its own leaders, how can it secure the people of Mumbai and Maharashtra, the Congress leader asked.

Targeting the government, party leader Ragini Nayak said, "When the government itself becomes the patron of criminals, the morale of criminals remains high."

With a 'double-engine' government, the responsibility also doubles, she said, adding,

"In this case, if the government has even a little bit of morality left, then Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis and Amit Shah should resign."

"If this does not happen, the public is ready to remove them from power," Nayak said.

"Tulsidas had told what Ram Rajya should be like, but perhaps the self-proclaimed contractors of religion do not remember about 'Ram Rajya'. Today there is 'Ravana Raj' in Maharashtra, which the people are ready to end and that is why perhaps they are trying to postpone the election dates," she claimed.

A popular figure in Bollywood circles, Baba Siddique had earned praise for supplying life-saving medicines to patients during the Covid pandemic.

He was also known for his grand Iftar parties which were attended by top Bollywood stars.

Baba Siddique represented the Bandra (West) seat three times in the Maharashtra assembly. A prominent Muslim leader from Mumbai, he was also known to be close to several Bollywood stars, including Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Dutt.