MUMBAI: A street smart “Bandra boy”, a go-getter with a heart of gold. Some residents, neighbours and friends who had known Baba Siddique for years said he would help everyone who approached him.
Pali Hill resident and Congress functionary Asif Farooqui, who had known him since the days Siddiqui helped his father, Abdul Rahim Siddique, with social work, said, “His father would create a temporary facility for namaz during Ramzan at his building, and I remember him helping his father.He would ride a scooter and get civic and other works done. That’s how he got early exposure in social works. Later, he learnt the ropes under the tutelage of actor-MP Sunil Dutt sahab.”
Educationist and former MP Akhtar Hasan Rizvi, who had known Siddique since his days in Youth Congress, called him a “good organiser and secular person”. “He was accessible to all and worked a lot to create a cadre of Congress in Bandra. His popularity transcended class and communities.”
Social activist Mudassar Patel, who had known him for decades, said, “Whenever I requested him to attend the Ramzan ration distribution programmes at Anjuman School in Bandra West or elsewhere, Baba would come. He would also contribute magnanimously.”
Madhu Poplai, secretary of the Pali Hill Residents Association, who knew Siddiqui for over two decades, described him as a politician who rarely refused to help with civic issues. “He lived in the locality and had a deep understanding of its challenges. I vividly remember him standing with us on Nargis Dutt Road at 3am while it was being laid. That road lasted over 15 years. He never considered a person’s political leanings when they approached him for help.”
Much is being said about Siddique’s annual iftars, but Congress MLA Amin Patel said he equally cared for the poor. “If he held iftar dinners for celebrities and other rich persons, he would sponsor iftar dinners for the poor, too. He stood by the needy,” said Patel. Bandra resident and Anjuman-I-Islam president Dr Zahir Kazi, who had known Siddique since his days in student politics, said, “He was street smart and showed qualities to become a good politician from the beginning.” Dr Kazi added that just three weeks ago, he met him at the airport where Siddique told him he wanted to set up an educational institution in his native Bihar as well as here.
Al Nasser Zakaria, son of former MLA Salim Zakaria who helped Siddique become a corporator in the early 1990s, said. “Nobody returned empty-handed from his home. He worked tirelessly during Covid,” he said.
(With inputs from Richa Pinto)