By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
Patna: He may change his gesture and posture towards the Muslim minority around next election in 2014 (Lok Sabha) or 2015 (Assembly), but right now he is little bothered about the concerns of the community. He is in Patna and has time to inaugurate a mall, a multiplex and even some smaller programs, but he has no time to meet a delegation of top Muslim organizations on the Forbesganj firing issue.
Full two weeks ago (on 7th of July), top Muslim organizations had jointly sought appointment from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar so that they could apprise him of their concerns over the brutal firing which claimed four lives including of an infant and a pregnant woman in Bhajanpur village of Forbesganj on 3rd of June 2011. But till today (22th of July) they have got no response from the office of the CM.
The Muslim organizations which had sought appointment included Imarat Shariah, Idarah Shariah, Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulama, Bihar Rabeta Committee, Momin Conference, Bihar and many others. These groups wanted to apprise the CM of the feelings of the Muslim community about the police killings in Forbesganj. They also wanted to present him a memorandum of their demands over the incident.
In a July 4 meeting, at the call of Jamaat-e-Islami, the Muslim groups here in Patna had formed an ad-hoc committee on the Forbesganj firing. The house had elected eminent social activist and journalist Nayyar Fatmi as its convenor. Fatmi, on behalf of the organizations, had submitted a written application for the appointment with CM on 7th July.
Nitish has not bothered to give you time to hear you. What will you say? “He does not want to meet us. As he has taken a stand (constitution of a judicial probe) he does not want to move an inch from that. He behaves more as a bureaucrat than a democratic person,” said Fatmi.
It was the second time that Nitish refused to meet Muslim community representative on the firing issue. According to some reliable sources, Ameer Shariat Maulana Syed Nizamuddin had written to the CM two days after the June 3 firing, seeking his appointment even though the maulana was sick. Nitish did not grant appointment to him.
Fatmi informed TCN that he, on behalf of the Muslim organizations, has now sought appointment with Governor of Bihar. Fatmi today submitted a written application with the office of the Governor.
The Muslim organizations have also decided to hold a massive demonstration in the state capital on 28th July. They have already started preparation to make it a big event to put pressure on the state government to act against the culprits of the firing and compensate the victims.