'Lanka Muslim congress not to accept ministerial portfolios until issues are resolved'
Colombo, Jul 22: Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, an ally of the government on Monday said that they will not return to the government and accept any portfolio until proper solutions are found for the issues faced by the minority Muslims especially after the Easter Sunday attacks.
All Muslim ministers, including Cabinet, state and deputy ministers in the Sri Lankan government resigned from their ministerial portfolios on June 3 citing the government's failure to ensure the safety of Muslims following the attacks.
However, parliamentarians Kabir Hashim and Abdul Haleem re-accepted their ministerial portfolios on June 19.
The Muslim political parties have been raising concerns over the arrests of several Muslims while the Sinhala majority nationalist groups focused on targeting certain Muslim politicians who they claimed had helped the National Thawheed Jammath (NTJ) to carry out the attacks on April 21.
Parliamentarian Rauf Hakeem said the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) supreme council held a special meeting on Sunday to decide whether to resume the ministerial portfolios left by the Muslim ministers in the government headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Following the deliberations, the SLMC said they would not return to the government to take up ministerial positions despite appeals to change their stance.
"We have more outstanding issues and concerns of the Muslim community to deal with," Hakeem, the SLMC leader who was the Minister of Urban Development before his resignation told reporters.
He said the SLMC was hoping to meet Prime Minister Wickremesinghe to discuss the concerns of the Muslim community.
Nine suicide bombers from the radical Islamic group attacked three churches and as many luxury hotels on April 21, killing 258 people and injuring 500 others.
The ISIS terror group claimed the attacks, but the government blamed the local Islamist extremist group NTJ for the Ester Sunday bombings.
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Campaign Against Hate Speech calls for action against Chandrashekar Swamiji for hate speech
Bengaluru: Campaign Against Hate Speech, a collective of lawyers, activists, and concerned citizens, has urged Karnataka’s Home Minister, Shri Parameshwara G, and Director General of Police, Dr. Alok Mohan, to take legal action against Chandrashekar Swamiji, the seer of Vishwa Vokkaligara Mahasamsthana Mutt. The demand follows an alleged hate speech made by the seer during a protest organized by the Bharatiya Kisan Union at Freedom Park on November 26, 2024.
The organization claimed that the speech was divisive and aimed at spreading communal hatred and enmity between communities. Chandrashekar Swamiji allegedly made inflammatory remarks, including false claims about the authority of the Waqf Board and a controversial suggestion that Muslims in India should be stripped of their voting rights. The speech, delivered to a large audience, has since been uploaded to YouTube by TV9 Kannada, amassing over 6,900 views.
The organization provided excerpts of the speech, which they say falsely accused the Waqf Board of arbitrarily taking over properties, including farmland, and asserted that minorities in Pakistan do not have voting rights. These remarks, they argued, not only mislead the public but also incite hostility against the Muslim community and misrepresent the functioning of the Waqf Board. The statement suggesting that Muslims should be denied voting rights was described as unconstitutional and harmful to the secular and democratic values of the country.
In their letter, the collective highlighted specific sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (formerly the IPC) that they believe the speech violates. These include provisions against promoting enmity between communities, making assertions prejudicial to national integration, and spreading false or alarming information intended to incite hatred. They also pointed out that comments on the video supported the seer’s views, reflecting the potential for real-world consequences stemming from the speech.
While Chandrashekar Swamiji has since issued a written apology, Campaign Against Hate Speech argued that it is insufficient. The apology has not been widely circulated, while the original speech continues to be shared online, further amplifying its divisive message.
The organization has requested legal action against the seer and restrictions on the offensive video. They have also called for a broader public awareness campaign to educate people about the legal and social consequences of hate speech. Additionally, they suggested that the upcoming winter session of the Karnataka Assembly address the growing issue of hate speech comprehensively.
The letter underscored the importance of preserving Karnataka’s identity as a “garden of peace for all communities,” as envisioned by Rashtrakavi Kuvempu. Citing Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s vision of democracy as a mode of “associated living,” they stressed that such remarks not only threaten a specific community but also undermine the foundational values of the nation.
