“Corruption can be curbed and uprooted only by means of accountability of all, irrespective of the position one holds or work one does,” said Mohd. Azharuddin, President, Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO) while addressing the Central Secretariat of SIO at its headquarters in New Delhi on August 15.
Regarding the Jan Lokpal Bill, Azharuddin said the Prime Minister too should be included under the ambit of Lokpal along with all citizens of the society. He further expressed that the proposed bill should be discussed in the parliament in its depth and put across for debate in the civil society for larger participation. Azharuddin exclaimed, “We dream and wish for a corruption-free society and country. This can only be achieved by transparent governance at all levels and accountability of everyone.” Commenting on freedom of expression issue, he said that suppressing the voice of the masses that stand for legitimate cause is undemocratic and unjustified.
Students’ Organisations Committed to Fighting Injustice
Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO) organised an Iftar get-together for leaders of different students’ organisations at the SIO headquarters, New Delhi in which the leaders unitedly proclaimed that they are committed to fighting the injustices being faced by the student community and the society at large.
Mohd. Azharuddin, President, SIO, in his presidential address, reached out to the leaders with the message of Ramadhan. Patience, perseverance and commitment come through self disciplining which is the prime objective of fasting in Ramadhan, he said. He further added that the collaboration of students irrespective of the affiliations and ideologies is the only way out to fetch the desired results for which the organisations are functioning.
Student leaders from various organisations and ideologies shared a common platform as they discussed the contemporary students’ issues and the very much debated Lokpal Bill. On the agenda were also issues of Foreign Universities Bill, commercialisation of education and social justice in education sector. Being students’ organisations the focus of discussions remained the education policies of the country and the needs of the students’ fraternity.