By Faisal Fareed, TwoCircles.net,
Lucknow: It is not a usual sight when you hear slogans of Jai Sri Ram from Bada Imambara of Lucknow. On Friday, cutting across religious barriers, people from all communities congregated at the historical Bada Imambara to observe a day’s fast. Means where different, ways were different but the prayer was the same—political demise of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
The fast was observed at the call of prominent Shia cleric and Imam-e-Juma Maulana Kalbe Jawwad. The agenda was to denounce Modi and his three-day fast gimmick. As the Shia youths raised slogans of Nar-e-Haidari, Ya Ali, Swami Agnivesh rose to the podium. There was pin drop silence in the hall when Swami Agnivesh began his speech with-‘Bismillahi Rahman Nirraheem’ (Beginning with the name of Allah-the most beneficent and merciful.)
“Lord Krishna has said in the holy book Bhagwad Geeta that fighting against the tyrant people is the true religion and even all the religions say the same thing. So, Maulana’s fasting is against the tyrant person and he is on the right path,” said Swami Agnivesh. He added that people of the country have been living together with peace and communal harmony but such type of politicians are the one who are doing every effort to clash the people against themselves.
He stated that several times politicians were triumphant in their motive which includes Kashmiri Pandit’s Massacre, 1984 riots where large number of Sikhs were killed, in the year 1999, several Christians were killed by the mob followed by Gujraat riots. “Still bad times of the country has not come that person like Narendra Modi whose hands are stained with the blood of innocent people will become Prime Minister of the country. His three-day long fasting was all drama which the people have understood already,” he added.
While addressing the gathering, Maulana Kalbe Jawad said: “Many times it has been said that Muslims don’t condemn Godhra incident which is completely wrong as I was the first to condemn the incident as several innocent people lost their lives in that. I also demanded that enquiry should be conducted on the incident too so that people behind such heinous act should be punished but nothing has been done so far.”
He prayed that as none of the court can punish Modi for his crimes against humanity but the court of Almighty will surely do justice with the victims and Modi will be punished for his crimes. “Not only Modi but all the tyrant rulers who have killed humanity will be wiped off from the world,” he added.
Principal of Christ Church College, Father Rakesh Chatri said: “Though fasting keeps a person close to Almighty but I doubt over the closeness of Modi as after carrying out such a massacre in Gujarat how can he be close to Almighty.” He added that Modi’s three day long fasting program was all just a political stunt in which he failed as none of victims as well as dependants of the people who were killed were present there.
Later, Maulana Kalbe Jawwad along with others broke the fast and prayed that oppression should be removed from the world and peace and prosperity should be maintained.
President of Akhil Bhartiya Sant Committee, Acharya Pramod Krishanan, Acharya from Ayodhya, YK Shastri, Sardar Gurmeet Singh, Nirmala Walter, Intezaar Abidi ‘Bobby’, Chairman Shia Waqf Board, Waseem Rizvi were also present on the occasion.