People's Democracy

AIDWA Rally Against Communal Propaganda In UP

More than 100 women belonging to the All India Democratic Women’s Association, along with students and youth from DYFI and SFI staged a protest demonstration against the BJP in front of the Election Commission’s office on April 6.

The rally was marked by slogans against the BJP’s communal propaganda in the UP elections. Later on a delegation led by its general secretary, Sudha Sundararaman, and comprising Pramila Pandhe, Ashalata along with leaders from DYFI, and SFI, and Teesta Setalvaad met the secretary in charge of UP and submitted the enclosed memorandum. The secretary assured them that they would deal with the issue seriously.

Text of the memorandum is as follows:

AIDWA is shocked by the contents of the CD released by the BJP leaders as part of its election propaganda in UP. The explanation given by the leaders that it has been subsequently withdrawn is totally unsatisfactory, since the CD would have by now been replicated many times over, and got disseminated rapidly. The CD spews the most provocative and disgusting accusations against Muslims, and uses communal propaganda to garner votes, which violates the constitution, and which is actionable under the code of conduct rules. Its depiction of Muslims as forcing their women to have many children, and as marrying Hindu women and then forcibly converting them to Islam are part of a vicious anti Muslim, anti women mind set which cannot be tolerated in a secular, and democratic country. 

Hence we demand that the Election Commission should take the most stringent action against the BJP as provided for in the rules, and should enforce a strict monitoring of all the speeches, campaign material and other activities of this RSS backed communal party, so that the UP elections may be conducted in a free and fair manner. (INN)