PUNE, 21 August 2007 — Deflecting the Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) threats, the state Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister R.R. Patil said that the Congress-NCP Democratic Front government in Maharashtra would not buckle under any pressure from any quarters while implementing the recommendations of the Srikrishna Commission.
Speaking at the inauguration function of the Global International School in suburban Pimpri in Pune, Patil said that the government was setting up special courts to provide speedier justice to the 1992-93 communal riots victims.
Stating that there were more than 253 cases pending in different courts, the government he said anticipated that at least ten cases will be tried in one special court to ensure quick justice to the riot victims. “We have sent a proposal to the Bombay High Court on Aug. 14 for setting up special fast tracks courts, he added.
The state Home Ministry along with the Law and Judiciary Ministry were working jointly to find out in how many cases there was strong proof to nail the guilty. Based on this the government would calculate exactly the number of fast track courts that would be required to try the cases where evidence was substantial, Patil said and added that 30 police officials have been held guilty, while nine have been charge-sheeted.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Solapur district the new Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party’s new political face, Movement for Peace and Justice (MPJ), was getting good response, said Maulana Abdul Qayyum, its state unit chief and a prominent member of the parent party.
Qayyum said that that MPJ was trying hard to spread its wings all voer the country by taking up the raging issues of Muslims. The ongoing controversy of the irregularities in the state Waqf Board and the Sachar committee recommendations has come as an opportunity to it and it is already capitalizing on it by launching awareness drives across the country, Qayyum said.
The state MPJ president further said that the new outfit has received tremendous response in Maharashtra and the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh. The MPJ was providing details of the Waqf properties worth millions of rupees in public meetings and demanding that the federal government ensure its use for the economic upliftment of Muslims and that Muslims must be made self-reliant in all sectors, he said.
Criticizing the federal and state governments, Qayyum said that Muslims were getting step-motherly treatment and lack resources. He suggested that Waqf resources should be used for development of Muslims and demanded that Waqf prperteis encroached upon by others be handed back to Muslims.
Commenting on the Qadri committee report, Qayyum said: “We don’t trust the Qadri committee set up by the state Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh to probe Waqf affairs. We want an in-depth, broader and impartial probe.” He urged Muslims to join the mainstream and to stand together with other communities to strengthen the secular fabric and the constitution.
