Parliamentary candidate for Bradford East Terry Rooney withdrew from a hustings in the constituency at the weekend because of a “malicious” leaflet campaign designed to target Muslim voters.
The event on Saturday at the Karmand Centre,Barkerend Road, was attended by the Liberal Democrats’ David Ward and the Conservatives’ Mohammed Riaz.
Mr Rooney, who has been an MP since 1990, told the Telegraph & Argus he became suspicious about the event after seeing the leaflets which brand him a warmonger and a Twitter campaign encouraging Muslims to vote for a Muslim candidate.
He said: “They are trying to legitimise voting on religious grounds through third party campaigning.”
Councillor Ward said the group had identified his record on political issues, and accused Mr Rooney of bottling it.
Bradford Voice, an organisation which is calling for voters to be active in the forthcoming elections, organised the event. One member said the leaflets were unconnected to the event and they were disappointed that Mr Rooney felt he was unable to attend. She added that if he had contacted them, they could have clarified the position.
The leaflets, headed Operation Muslim Vote, were written by the organisation Muslim Public Affairs Committee, who were unavailable for comment.
Telegraph & Argus