“I am an ISI Agent” – Abdullah Bukhari

At a recently held rally in New Delhi Muslim leaders described le Uttar Pradesh Religious Places Bill as anti-Muslim and demanded that the State UP Government be dismissed forthwith since it failed to maintain the secular tradition of the State.

A number of people from UP, Bihar and Haryana led by the Naib Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari went in a procession to the Ramlila Grounds from the Masjid following the Friday namaz shouting along the way provocative slogans causing tension in some areas. But the peace-loving local Muslims kept the situation under control.

Imam Abdullah Bukhari spoke in his usual provocative tone thundering: “I am an ISI agent; if the Indian Government has guts to arrest me, let them come and arrest me and face the consequences”. He also bluntly charged that “during Clinton’s visit the 37 Sikhs were killed not by militants but by the Government itself, In a show of retaliation’ the Indian security forces killed the innocent Kashmiris, later branded as ‘terrorists’. The J&K Chief ‘
Minister Farooq Abdullah agrees with this version.”

The Naib Imam, Ahmed Bukhari, lambasted all political parties for exploiting the minorities, Muslims in particular, as vote-banks.

“Over the last 50 years, Muslims have remained economically and socially backward due to the policies of successive governments. Politicians use us to get votes and once in power, they forget about the community. People like Mulayam Singh Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan, staunch votaries of secularism, hardly did anything for our community in spite of being ministers”, the Naib Imam said.

A number of leaders of Milli Council, Imams’ Council and Majlis Mushawwarat were called upon to address the gathering but they did not turn up, only Naib Amir Munis Shafriq of Jamaat-e-Islami and G.M. Banatwala of Indian Union Muslim League turned up.

Matia Mahal and adjoining Muslim localities wore a deserted curfew-like look. Many of the locals were scared and didn’t come out before the evening. Since Independence, the area had witnessed the first curfew on February 2,1975, when Bukhari usurped the post of the ‘Shahi’ Imam.

The Bukharis have even tried to solve the basic problems of Muslims. The Imam only settled some ‘agreements’ like a wily businessman. Firstly, an agreement took place with the late Indira Gandhi, then with Janata Party and then with Janata Dal. Every agreement was meant to help the Imam in his designs.

The implementation of UP Religious Places Bill applies to all religions, not the Muslims gone. But not body from other religions joined the rally.

Refuting the rantings of Bukhari, Union Minister Shahanawaz Hussain attacked the fundamentalists, and said that they are irked by the progress of the Muslims under Vajpayee. Indian Muslims want to live in peace.