Communist Party Fears Hindu-Muslim Conflict in Delhi
By Rakesh Raman
A delegation led by Brinda Karat, Polit Bureau member of Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI (M), met the Lt. Governor (LG) of Delhi, Najeeb Jung on Wednesday and submitted a memorandum regarding the communally tense situation in Sriram Colony in North-East Delhi.
The delegation, which also met the local police, included CPI (M) Delhi State Committee members P I Raveendranathan and Maimoona Mollah as well as residents of Sriram Colony – Meena Begum, Nargis Begum, Anisa Begum, Tarannum, Yogesh, Nabi Hasan, Yaqoob, and Zeeshan.
The delegation urged the LG for his urgent intervention to prevent the development of any communal conflagration because of the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organization of the ruling party BJP in India) holding Shakhas (morning drills) in the Muslim dominated locality in Sriram Colony.
As BJP and its leader Narendra Modi are hell-bent to make India a Hindu Rashtra (a nation only for Hindus), they have been systematically targeting minority communities including Muslims and Christians.
[ Read: Hindu Rulers in India Irk the Muslims, Again ]
A US-based terrorism threat management group has put RSS in the list of terrorist organizations, saying “RSS is a shadowy, discriminatory group that seeks to establish a Hindu Rashtra, a Hindu Nation. The group is considered the radical ideological parent group of India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party – the Indian Peoples Party (BJP).”
Meanwhile, the residents of Sriram Colony categorically told the LG that Hindus and Muslims have been living there peacefully, but RSS has created an atmosphere of fear and tension in the area.
The delegation informed the LG about the police pressure on local residents for a so-called compromise – that the Shakha should be conducted up to 7 a.m. and thereafter Eid namaz be held. The people of the area are sceptical about this, given their experience last year about a written agreement that has not been implemented to date, according to CPI (M).
[ Also Read: New Delhi: The Case of a Neglected City ]
The CPI (M)-led group requested the LG to ensure that communal forces are dealt with firmly. It is essential to stop the RSS Shakha meetings in this area particularly during the Eid festivities on July 17-18-19, it was stated.
It also urged that the police pressure on minority community to enter into a compromise should stop and the police should not discriminate against the minority community.
In case there has been any incident which warrants police intervention it must be ensured that the police stop targeting the minority community. In an altercation amongst the neighbors in the area, police had picked boys only from the minority community, CPI (M) alleged.
By Rakesh Raman, the managing editor of RMN Company
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Photo courtesy: CPI (M)
