By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : Abdul Nasser Mahdhani, released from jail after being acquitted of charges of involvement in the Coimbatore serial bombings, said Thursday that his first priority was to forge Dalit-Muslim unity in Kerala.
Madhani arrived here from Kochi where he reached Wednesday night after being released from the Coimbatore jail where he had been languishing for over nine and a half years.
He was the 14th accused in the Feb 14, 1998 blasts that took place while BJP leader L.K. Advani was on an election tour of Coimbatore. It left 58 people dead and 250 injured.
Speaking to reporters here, Mahdhani made it clear that his primary objective was to work for the betterment of the poor and downtrodden.
“Dabbling in electoral politics is not the intention of my party. Instead we will work for the downtrodden. I wish to work out a large canvas where we work together for Dalit-Muslim unity,” he said.
He also said that his long tenure in the jail for no fault of his and for no crime had come as a blessing in disguise.
“I was introspecting on all issues. Believe me I have learnt a lot, which one will never ever learn in any university. I got to meet lot of people. And from all the experiences that I had, I am in a way happy,” said Mahdhani.
Mahdhani played safe when he was asked political questions, and simply said that since the last assembly elections in April 2006 his People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had been supporting the Left Democratic Front.
“Of late what I have observed is that the Left has given importance to certain issues that my party has been raising. And whatever probing questions you ask, I will neither praise them nor condemn them,” he said.
He also parried questions on the Indian Union Muslim League, a constituent of the Congress-led United Democratic Front.
“I want to make it clear that my party does not intent to compete with IUML. The IUML is not a party of all Muslims. We target the category of Muslims who are downtrodden and not taken care of by others,” said Mahdhani.
He also said that he does not intent to take anyone to court for putting him in jail for no fault of his.
“I only wish none in this state undergo what I underwent,” said Mahdhani.