We are not criminals, says Farooq Abdullah
New Delhi: "We are not criminals," says Lok Sabha member and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah in a letter to Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on his personal letterhead which mentions his residence as "sub-jail".
Abdullah, under detention since August 5 and subsequently booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) on September 17, is at present at his residence in Gupkar which has been declared as a sub-jail.
Abdullah is among a host of political leaders who have been detained on August 5 after the Centre withdrew special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and bifurcated the state into union territories.
Tharoor, a Lok Sabha member from Kerala, had written a letter to Abdullah on October 21 which was delivered to him on December 2. The contents of the letter were not available.
In his one paragraph reply, Abdullah, a three-time former chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, thanked Tharoor for his letter.
He said the October 21 letter was delivered to him on December 21 by the magistrate who looks after him in the sub-jail.
"It is most unfortunate that they are not able to deliver me my post in time. I am sure this is not the way to treat a senior Member of the Parliament and leader of a political party. We are not criminals," Abdullah wrote in his reply, which has been shared by Tharoor on his Twitter handle.
In his tweet, Tharoor said parliamentarians should be allowed to allowed to attend "the session as a matter of parliamentary privilege".
"Otherwise the tool of arrest can be used to muzzle opposition voices. Participation in Parliament is essential 4 (for) democracy and popular sovereignty," he added.
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Successfully overcame major resistance to Karnataka Muslim Convention, says Suhail Ahmed Maroor
Bengaluru: Karnataka Rajya Muslim Sanghatanegala Okkoota spokesperson Suhail Ahmed Maroor on Saturday said the organisers had successfully overcome what he described as significant resistance to the ‘Karnataka Muslim Convention’, despite a misinformation campaign in the last 24 hours claiming that the event had been cancelled.
Speaking at the convention organised by the Karnataka Rajya Muslim Sanghatanegala Okkoota at Town Hall in Bengaluru, Maroor began his introductory remarks by reading out the Preamble to the Constitution.
He said the federation had spent the past eight months consulting members of the Muslim community and gathering opinions, with the objective of working for the community’s interests and safeguarding its constitutional rights.
Maroor said the Muslim community has the capacity to gather lakhs of people for religious programmes, but when an attempt was made to mobilise even 1,000 people for a convention focused on political, educational and social issues, questions were raised about who was backing the event, who had funded it, and whether it was for or against any particular political party.
He said the organisers faced considerable pressure, resistance and challenges, and added that many others might have cancelled the programme under such circumstances.
“We are fighting for our rights. We are living in a time when our identity is under threat,” he said.
Referring to the hijab issue, Maroor said the federation had been demanding for the past three years that the government withdraw the order banning hijab. He noted that within three hours of the federation holding a press conference to announce the convention, the government withdrew the order.
He welcomed the government’s decision and expressed gratitude on behalf of the federation.
Maroor said the convention should not be viewed with suspicion simply because the Muslim community had chosen to organise a gathering to discuss its political, educational and social concerns.
He clarified that the programme was not intended as an event against the Congress party or the government, but was aimed at examining what promises the Congress had made to the Muslim community during elections, which of those promises had been fulfilled and which remained pending.
He said the report prepared by the federation analyses both the assurances made by the Congress government and the gaps in implementation.
Maroor added that, for the first time, workers who contribute significantly to the country’s economy were collectively seeking accountability for how their taxes and labour were being recognised.
“This is not being done on behalf of any individual or political party. We are undertaking a small effort on behalf of the community,” he said.
He said that after the convention, the organisers would make efforts to submit the report to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar, state ministers, the Congress high command and Rahul Gandhi.
Haris Siddiqui of the Karnataka Rajya Muslim Sanghatanegala Okkoota delivered the welcome address.
