MESSAGE BOARD
NEWSLINKS
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Centre contemplating action against Deendar Anjuman

The Centre is contemplating action against Deendar Anjuman, which is allegedly responsible for a series of bomb blasts in Christian institutions in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa, Home Minister L K Advani told the Lok Sabha on Friday.

Replying to a debate on atrocities on linguistic and religious minorities, Advani said 35 people of the organisation have been arrested and 60 identified. Action will be taken against the Deendar after consulting the states where the organisation has been active, he said.

Advani said a breakthrough in the probe into the blasts came after he told a meeting of Director Generals of Police and chief secretaries of the states to pursue the case vigorously regardless of the party affiliations of those involved.

Advani sought the co-operation of the opposition, saying without their support the designs of Pakistan could not be defeated.

Advani said the government was committed to protect the minorities and their rights but at the same time would oppose attempts by vested interests to perpetuate minoritism as it was not good for the country.

Interrupting him, Indian Union Muslim League leader G M Banatwala said the government should take firm action against the Deendar as also the Inter Services Intelligence of Pakistan. He said Muslims do not consider the Deendar Anjuman as part of their religion.

Referring to the opposition charge of going soft on pro-Hindutva forces, Advani said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition had started with a handicap due to the party's 'totally distorted image' with regard to its commitment to secularism. He said the perception sought to be created - that BJP was wedded to the welfare of a particular community - was 'not the reality'.

Since the BJP-led government came to power, there has been a sharp fall in incidents of communal riots as also casualties, the home minister said. Nevertheless, he said he did not want to take satisfaction from the statistics, as it was the government's job to create a sense of security among all sections of the people.

At the same time, he admitted that violence against the Christian community has increased. He assured the House that the government would ensure that these did not take place.

He regretted that routine law and order incidents involving Christians are being given a communal colour. Such projection gives a different message, he said.

Citing five cases in Uttar Pradesh, he said the National Commission for Minorities has said these were not communal in nature. He said even the Commission was accused of being a handmaiden of the government.

Stating that the Commission was a statutory body created by Parliament, he said these kinds of comments were not proper.

When confronted by Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia that Advani's speech did not carry any credibility since he was present during the demolition of the Babri masjid, Advani said he had made his position clear soon after the incident - that it was the saddest day of his life.

Quoting Constituent Assembly proceedings, he said the country's founding fathers had decided that India would be a secular republic even though the division of the country had taken place on the basis of religion. This, he said, was so because secularism was embedded in India's history, culture and ethos.

The Home Minister's exposition on secularism, however, attracted adverse remarks from P R Dasmunshi and other Congressmen.

Tell us what you think of this report