Author:
Publication: The Telegraph
Date: June 1, 2002
More than 750 Congress delegates
will converge here for a three-day national training camp on secularism
starting tomorrow as part of the party's efforts to shake off allegations
of being "anti-Hindu".
Sources said the delegates and a
handful of commentators from across the country would speak on the party's
pro-Muslim policies and the attitude of the minority communities. All uncomfortable
questions the Congress has so far skirted will be dealt with.
Twenty-six BJP allegations have
been chosen as topics of discussion. Some of them are queries like why
Indian Muslims burst crackers when India loses to Pakistan in a cricket
match or why Article 370 should not be scrapped for a permanent solution
to the Kashmir issue?
Other tricky issues deal with Islam
and terrorism; Godhra and the Prime Minister's comment that if the train
massacre had not happened there would have been no riots; birth rate among
Muslims, the government's spending of crores of rupees on Haj pilgrims
every year; and conversions carried out by Christian missionaries.
The K.C. Niyogi committee, after
thorough investigation, had submitted a detailed report to the Madhya Pradesh
government confirming that Christian missionaries were indulging in anti-Hindu
propoganda in tribal areas.
The BJP had questioned if the state's
Congress government had taken any action so far?
"There is an increasing communal
atmosphere in the country. After Godhra, the whole country seems to have
been divided into communities. This was one of our serious concerns, discussed
at the AICC meet on May 24 in New Delhi," said state Congress chief Radha
Kishan Malviya, explaining the need for the camp.
"Chief minister Digvijay Singh suggested
the idea that the party should discuss the BJP's accusations on the Congress
about minority appeasement and those questions that the party has so far
ducked need to be answered now."
Malviya said party chief Sonia Gandhi
agreed that a national meet should be held to discuss "secularism". Bhopal,
he added, was selected to host the event as it was home to both Hindus
and Muslims.
Senior Congress leaders will hold
discussions and interact on the topics lined up. Non-political experts
have been chosen from the minority communities so that they can explain
the psychology of minority- behaviour.
Among those who would deliver speeches
are Prof. Mushirul Hasan of Jamia Milia University, Prof. Imtiaz Ahmed
from JNU, former Chief Justice of India A.M. Ahmadi, A.J. Phillip, editor,
Indian Express, Urdu critic Gopichand Narang, academic Arjun Dev and Congress
leader Salman Khurshid. AICC member in-charge of training programmes Mani
Shankar Aiyar will be present. Chief minister Digvijay Singh will inaugurate
the event at 9 am tomorrow.
