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Author: Savie Karnel
Publication: Mid-Day
Date: January 23, 2007
URL: http://mid-day.com/news/nation/2007/january/150640.htm
When former Union minister and Congress leader C K Jaffer Sharief visited Bowring hospital, members of the Muslim community blocked his way.
Later, only after the people scolded him harshly for being the root cause of the communal tension, was he allowed entry. Sharief's detractors say they don't see why a rally protesting former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's hanging should have been held on Friday - 20 days after incident.
Procession
"What was the need for a procession 20 days after the hanging of Saddam?"
asked Ibrahim Sharief, a resident of Shivajinagar. Gulshanji, a youth Congress
leader holds Sharief responsible for the riots.
"He held the rally to show he still has the support of the people. He created the tension, so that the rally hits headlines. If there was no violence, there would have been no much talk about the rally," said Gulshanji.
"The date for Vishwa Hindu Samjotsava was announced three months ago but Sharief chose a rally just two days before it," Gulshanji said. "The state congress has sent negative reports about Sharief. He did not work in the interests of the party," he said.
Muslim from Shivajinagar and Bharatinagar blamed Shantinagar MLA Nirmal Kumar Surana. "We are not against the BJP. We have a BJP MLA Katta Subramanya Naidu in Shivajinagar. But we don't blame him. We blame Surana, who on Friday night, paid 400 people to come to Bangalore from places like Mangalore to riot," said Haku, who added that the Shantinagar police was hands in glove with Surana.
Surana rubbished the allegations. "On what basis are they blaming me? If they talk nonsense, I cannot do anything about it," said Surana. MiD DAY called Jaffer Sharief several times, each time his grandson, Abdul Rehman, said he would call back, but never did.
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