Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt responds to Nishrin Jafri Husain's open letter
This is Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt.
Dear Nishrin Jafri Hussain,
Thank you very much for this heartwarming letter of support. What you, your family and thousands of innocent citizens went through in 2002 is barely imaginable.
I still remember that night when my husband returned home. I saw him walk through our gate, his stride still strong and sure; but once he entered our home, for the first time in my life, I saw him loose composure. IPS was my husband’s dream, serving the country was his vocation. That night, I saw that very passion for the forces extinguish in his eyes. Instead, all I could see was grief.
What we are living today is only the consequence of what happened then. Even after all we’ve been through, my husband has not given up his fight to bring Justice to your father; to bring Justice to your mother, and to all those who suffered the loss of friends and families. To bring them whatever solace, whatever closure they could find in seeing the people responsible for the cold-blooded murders of their loved ones being brought to justice. The past sixteen years of our lives have been the consequence of these three terrible days, these three atrocious nights, where gods abandoned us, and the government followed suit.
Ehsan jafri and his daughter Nishrin Jafri Hussain
Dear Nishrin, the abhorrent inactions of power-hungry men and women, who played with human lives for political mileage, will never be forgotten or forgiven.
I do not, for a single moment, regret the fight that my husband led. I do not mourn on the threats we received, on the destruction of my house, the removal of my security guards. Yes, doors may not open as wide as before, and the road to Justice is long. But as long as we stand together, it is not lonely.
To the incredulous, who believe our suffering is the right price to pay for raising our voices, I oppose your resolve.
But to all those sharing our struggle, standing in broad light to demand Justice for your father, for my husband today, I convey our warmest and sincerest gratitude. And to all those silently questioning the timing of last week’s events, uneased by the pernicious feeling that repression and censorship are steadily becoming India’s norms, I ask to stay vigilant. Only at this condition will democracy subsist, and Justice - not retribution, not vengeance - will be brought to our families, and to the families of all those whose suffering has lasted for too long.
With you always,
God bless.
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Misa Bharti calls PM Modi 'old', gets slammed by BJP, JD(U)
Patna, May 2: RJD president Lalu Prasad’s eldest daughter Misa Bharti on Thursday drew flak from the BJP-led NDA in Bihar for an uncharitable reference to the "old" age of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Bharti, who is the RJD candidate from Patliputra, made the remarks while canvassing in the constituency where she attacked the NDA government at the Centre for bringing in the Agniveer scheme of recruitment in armed services.
In a video clip, purportedly of Wednesday, now viral on social media, the Rajya Sabha MP can be heard as saying: "What did this government do in 10 years? It brought in Agniveer. Young people fighting for the country will be retired at the age of 22. On the other hand, we have an old Prime Minister who at the age of 75 wants a third consecutive term".
Predictably, the BJP flew in rage and sought to remind the RJD leader that her father, too, was at a ripe age.
"PM Modi is much younger than Lalu Prasad. Misa Bharti should keep this in mind and think before heaping insults in this manner," said BJP national spokesman Syed Shahnawaz Hussain.
JD(U) chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar, whose party is headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and is an NDA partner, asked, "Does Misa Bharti speak of her father in a similar tone?".
Referring to Bharti's rival in Pataliputra, the JD(U) leader added: "She will learn her lessons. The blessings of Ram are with Ram Kripal".
Ram Kripal Yadav, a former close aide of the RJD supremo, had joined the BJP ahead of Lok Sabha polls in 2014 when he defeated Bharti and was rewarded with a berth in the Union council of ministers.
Five years later, Bharti suffered defeat at the hands of her father's disgruntled close aide for a second time.
Covering areas of rural Patna, Patliputra, where voting is scheduled in the final phase, is set to witness yet another straight contest between Bharti and Yadav.
