By Soroor Ahmed, TwoCircles.net,
What initially appeared to be one-off theatrics enacted by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on June 12––he cancelled the dinner of BJP bigwigs–– have now grown into full-blown dangerous game of communal polarization. Nothing exemplify this better than the way the lone Muslim Janata Dal (United) Lok Sabha MP from Bihar, Monazir Hasan, was made the villain of the piece on the India Shutdown (Bharat Bandh) day on July 5.
Yet what baffles the Muslim mass is the deceptive silence of the community leaders, though in the private, all of them are alarmed over a unique and unheard of experiment going on to disturb the communal amity in Bihar.
The so-called spat between Monazir and the BJP workers on the India Shutdown day in Patna is being dubbed as another stage-managed show enacted on behalf of the NDA leadership. Monazir was leading a group of Janata Dal (United) workers enforcing shutdown in the heart of Patna. Side by side were the workers of the alliance partner, the BJP, who were carrying the photographs of Gujarat chief minister, Narendra Modi. Of all the persons in Janata Dal (United), it was Monazir, who reportedly objected to the BJP workers for carrying the photos of Narendra Modi. Possibly for the political consumption he even went on to criticize the Sangh Parivar, with whose leaders, he had otherwise very cordial relationship. He even gave bytes to the television channels, whose reporters were present on the spot.
This was followed by scuffle between the supporters of both the ruling constituents in Bihar and sometimes later the BJP workers burnt the effigy of Monazir. What shocked the people most is as to why not a single BJP leader was present and why only Monazir was at the place when the Hindutva party workers were carrying Modi’s photos. Ironically Monazir himself was dressed in dark saffron colour shirt at that time. And why of all the persons, it was only Monazir who spoke against Modi.
If the whole exercise was not stage-managed and the clash between the workers of the two parties were really genuine then why not a single Janata Dal (United) leader condemned the roughing up of the party MP and subsequent burning of his effigy. In contrast senior state BJP leaders went hammer and tongs against Monazir and one of them, was quoted in TV channels as saying that he is the agent of Lalu Yadav’s RJD. State cooperative minister Giriraj Singh (he is of the BJP) openly stated that his party workers would certainly carry Narendra Modi’s photo, come what may.
As if that was not enough: the workers of the Minority Cell of the Janata Dal (United) in Begusarai, the constituency represented by Monazir, protested against the BJP workers and tore the photo of Narendra Modi. It remained a mystery as to why––apart from Minority Cell workers––not a single Janata Dal (United) leader took to streets in favour of Monazir.
The truth is that it was nothing short of stupidity on the part of Monazir to speak against Narendra Modi, when the political atmosphere is really getting charged. The Muslims, in general, were not at all impressed by the so-called wordy duel between the Janata Dal (United) and the BJP. But Monazir played into the hands of those who want to vitiate the communal situation in the state, achieved after enormous efforts in early 1990s.
What is strange is that not a single Muslim leader of national or regional reckoning––except of political parties like RJD and LJP––dared to expose the design and tell everyone, be it the chief minister Nitish Kumar or his party MP, Monazir Hasan, that please do not drag the community into this unnecessary controversy.
Though both the big shots of the Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat and All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Syed Shahabuddin and Syed Nizamuddin respectively hail from Bihar, they are yet to make an appeal to the NDA bigwigs to stop spoiling the communal harmony. By doing so they would certainly not be counted as Lalu-loyalist, as they may fear. It is their duty to guide the society and expose any such design to destabilize it.
Even the suspended former Janata Dal (United) Rajya Sabha MP, Dr Ejaz Ali, is yet to come out with categorical statement on the whole drama, which started on June 12. He only made an appeal to the Janata Dal (United)––the party which suspended him on October 21 last, for inviting Jaswant Singh to Patna––to dissociate itself from the BJP. If it does so the Janata Dal (United) would come to power alone in the next assembly election, he added.
But the million dollars question is as to why is the community leadership not understanding that the month-long drama, which started from cancellation of the dinner party of L K Advani, Narendra Modi and company to the return of flood relief money to Gujarat and than the so-called drama involving Monazir Hassan have the potential to jeopardized the life of innumerable people of the state––both Hindus and Muslims. The stage-managed drama like this has created an air of suspicion now.
True the local Press in Bihar, Urdu in particular, for obvious reasons, would never publish any statement of any body criticizing Nitish Kumar, yet these Muslim leaders can use media elsewhere in the country, for example Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow etc.
When there is growing feeling among the common Muslims that the Janata Dal (United) and the BJP leaders are playing a very dirty game to polarize the atmosphere what is preventing the leadership in general from coming out to call spade a spade?