Congress MP and former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar demanded certificates of innocence from the Central government to Muslim youth who were needlessly arrested in terrorist incidents as part of their rehabilitation.
The certificates will help them erase the stigma of having led a jail life. Otherwise, who will give them jobs, Mr. Aiyar asked at a meeting with the theme ‘Politics of terror targeting Muslim youth’ which was organised by the People’s Campaign Against Politics of Terror.
He ridiculed that the governments were more anxious to extend relief and rehabilitation to industrialists but not the poor. Thus, the Ambanis, Tatas and Birlas got a tax relief of Rs five lakh crore a year in a bid to give a push to the economy.
He said the demolition of Babri Masjid marked the breakdown of secular fabric in the country and the problem only worsened after that. He blamed the TV channels for promoting communal hate campaigns to improve their viewership ratings.
Narrating his experience as the first Consul General of India in Pakistan, Mr. Aiyar said he had received four lakh applications for visa to visit Hyderabad. But, not a single visitor turned out to be a terrorist. On the other hand, lakhs of Muslims in India faced repression from police.
Fascist regime
Former CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan said the new legislations in the name of strengthening security were converting the country into a fascist regime.
Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh Mohammed Adeeb said a deliberate attempt was made by right-wing forces to confuse 60 crore population of secular non-Muslims in the country.
The meeting was also addressed by rights activists, including a BBC correspondent Mohammed Iqbal Ahmed who said the presence of Muslims in large numbers in Parliament and Assemblies did not mean violence against the community will come down. There were nine riots already in Uttar Pradesh where 69 Muslims were elected as MLAs in a house of 470.
A professor of Jamia Millia Islamia University Manisha Sethi said the title ‘encounter specialists’ to police officers who participated in encounters should not be allowed.
Editor of Siasat daily Zahid Ali Khan, CPI State secretary K. Narayana and his counterpart of CPI (M) B.V. Raghavulu and balladeer Gadar also spoke.
