The All-India Ulema Board and the Jamiat ul-Ulama, Mumbai, on Saturday called for a ban on the Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani's upcoming rath yatra against corruption, citing fears of communal violence.
“We appeal to the Union government to stop Mr. Advani's yatra,” Allama Bunai Hasani, the Board's general secretary told a press conference here.
He said: “This is Mr. Advani's seventh rath yatra. All his previous rath yatras have been accompanied by violence and bloodshed. We fear this time it will again result in communal violence.”
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The immediate allusion is to Mr. Advani's rath yatra to the Babri Masjid in 1992 that led to the mosque being demolished, followed by widespread communal violence.
Calling the event a “rakt [blood] yatra” Maulana Abdul Salam Khan Qasim, president of the Jamiat ul-Ulama, Mumbai, said: “Its real intention is to campaign for votes with an eye on the next lections. Mr. Advani is merely apeing Anna Hazare. This yatra is not going to end corruption. The yatra should not harm India's unity and diversity. Secularism should not be compromised,” he said.