Shahid Siddiqui, the former MP and editor of Nai Duniya newspaper today called on Narendra Modi, the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate, to set up a judicial commission within first 100 days of his government, as a bold confidence building measure if he wins the election.
Addressing an audience of the Indian American community, and American think tanks, and investors, organized by the Washington, DC based US India Political Action Committee (USINPAC), Siddiqui said, “Such a commission can immediately and efficiently investigate all pending cases of past five years involving terrorism and related. Irrespective of the minority or majority communities there may be innocent youths who are wrongly confined. Such a move within first 100 days of taking office will give a lot of confidence and healing touch to the minority communities in India, and help Mr. Modi to build a resurgent and vibrant India”.
Predicting that the BJP will get anywhere between 45-55 seats in Uttar Pradesh and sounding confident that the BJP will emerge victorious, Siddiqui is emerging as a prominent voice of the Muslim community that is now challenging the old-style Muslim vote-bank politics. He recently wrote a much discussed column in which he blamed the Congress, Samajwadi, BSP, and other parties for using secularism as a “jaziya” tax on the Muslim community.
“There is a good amount of interest about Indian elections in America. We invite key experts from India so that the Indian American community and friends of India in the United States get to hear their views about the change that is happening on the ground in India”, said Sanjay Puri, the chairman of USINPAC.
While there is interest in America about Indian elections, there are also sections that are trying to keep alive controversies about Modi around election time in India. Just last week a briefing was scheduled by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC) at the US Congress to discuss a report from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom USCIRF).
The hearing came under strong fire from supporters and friends of India, including from USINPAC which termed it as interference in internal affairs of India. USINPAC later arranged an event in honor of Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard who strongly decried the hearing as an attempt to influence elections in India. Speaking at the USINPAC event, Gabbard slammed the TLHRC for scheduling a hearing right in the middle of India’s election season, and said, “Organizations like USINPAC must educate and inform the U.S. Congress that it must not do anything that seems like interference in India’s internal affairs”.
Source: Eurasia Review
