JIH M’rashtra condemns violence in Jalna, appeals for peace
The Maratha community is protesting for reservations and one of their leaders Manoj Jarange has undertaken a fast unto death in Jalna. It appears that the police acted upon Jarange’s alleged deteriorating health and they tried to forcibly shift him from the place where he was fasting. This infuriated his followers and the protestors who had gathered there in large numbers. There was stone-pelting, lathi-charge and the police firing in the air. Around 40-50 police personnel and 80-90 protestors have been injured.
JIH Maharashtra, Secretary for National and Community Affairs, Abdul Mujeeb who hails from Jalna met the injured – both police and citizens in Civil Hospital, Jalna. He also met high-ranking police officials and former Health and Minister for Higher Education, Rajesh Tope from Jalna. Commenting on the developing situation, the President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Maharashtra, Maulana Ilyas Khan Falahi said, “We condemn the violence in Jalna and appeal for peace. We demand a high-level inquiry into the incident. Violence carried out by citizens or any police atrocity is equally condemnable and should be avoided by any just society. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind appeals to all to observe restraint and maintain peace and justice at all costs. The only way forward is dialogue and negotiation. Maharashtra is a highly developed state and it has a glorious history. We must all unite and continue to work together for peace and prosperity.”
Pasmanda Muslims Reject BJP in UP’s Ghosi Polls
In the by-election to the Assembly in Ghosi constituency of Uttar Pradesh, Pasmanda Muslims have rejected the BJP. The Samajwadi Party’s Sudhakar Singh secured a landslide victory against his closest rival BJP candidate Dara Singh Chauhan. Singh got 1,24,427 votes, while Chauhan managed to get the support of 81,668 voters.
The BJP was working to divide the Muslims into backward and forward i.e. 80 and 20 per cent among the Muslims by following the policy of the British “divide and rule”. For this, the BJP was working to divide the Muslims by saying that 80 per cent of the Muslims were Pasmanda Muslims and the remaining 20 per cent were other Muslims. The BJP’s thinking behind this was that if Muslims fall into the trap of this scheme, the votes of Muslims will be divided and they will get the benefit, said Akhilesh Tripathi of Lucknow.
Ghosi has over 90,000 Muslim voters, including over 70,000 Pasmanda Muslims. There are 45,000 Yadavs, 15,000 Thakurs, 40,000 Rajbhars, 20,000 Nishads, about 90,000 Dalit voters. The BJP was assuming that if it gets 50,000 votes from the Pasmanda community besides its own traditional votes, it will win in Ghosi. But this did not happen and the Muslims of the Pasmanda community rejected the BJP and did not vote for it, which led to the crushing defeat of the BJP.