People's Democracy

Dont Target Bengali-Speaking People In Rajasthan

Hannan Mollah Writes To CM

Hannan Mollah, CPI(M) MP and central secretariat member has written the following letter to Vasundhara Raje, chief minister of Rajasthan, on May 21 regarding Jaipur blasts.

Dear Vasundhara ji,

I was shocked to hear about the barbaric terrorists strike in Jaipur and I express my heartfelt sympathy to the members of the families of the victims and wish early recovery of the injured. We stand by the genuine efforts of the government to nab the culprits and bring them before law for their proper punishment.

I visited the affected areas and interacted with a cross section of the people but it was surprising that most of the blasts took place within 100 meters of police headquarters.

I think the government should have proper perspective about the terrorists activities and to check it they should be guided by objectivity. No other consideration � ideological, communal or sentimental � must shroud the decision of the government in formulating its action to combat this menace.

In this context, I would like to draw your kind attention to one aspect of the government decision. The police is concentrating to find the criminals among Bangladeshi foreign nationals allegedly living in the state. This is a hotly debated matter that large number of Bangladeshi citizens are staying in different parts of the country. It is the duty of the government to identify foreign nationals living in the country illegally, take action as per law of the land and deport them after following proper judicial process. But always this action leads to the harassment of the Bengali-speaking Indian citizens and more so to the Bengali-speaking Indian Muslims. Such things happened in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Orissa, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and many other states in the past. We repeatedly warned all those governments and government of India to be extremely cautious while dealing with this matter. While the government must discharge its duty by identifying and deporting foreigners, it is equally the constitutional obligation of the government to protect its own citizens from any action of harassment in the name of identifying foreigners. Many times in the past such things have happened and Bengali-speaking Indians were at the receiving end. I raiseDont Target Bengali-Speaking People In Rajasthand this matter on several occasions during the last many years to take appropriate action but this has happened again and again. This has forced me to think that the government�s attitude is determined not by objective and secular legality but by communal consideration.

In the present context of the Jaipur blasts I am afraid such mischief is not being meticulously avoided. I reiterate my firm opinion that the government must identify culprits, whether Indians and foreigners and punish them but they should be extremely cautious to see that no peace loving, patriotic Indian citizens become the target of the government. It is reported to me that in Jaipur, Bengali-speaking people from West Bengal are also being terrorised in the garb of identification of Bangladeshis. I am told that landlords are being asked by the police to remove their Bengali-speaking tenants. Many people from various districts of my state are working in Jaipur and other parts of Rajasthan and they are being chased by the police. They are so terrorised that they are leaving Rajasthan and going back to their home in West Bengal. If this happens, it will jeopardise the relations among the people of the two states and it will be dangerous for our national unity and communal harmony.

Under the circumstances, I would request you to be extremely cautious on this matter in the national interest and hope that administration will not be allowed to take any step on communal or linguistic consideration. Instead there should be stress on the efficiency of the police administration and intelligence by which the terrorists menace could be combated and unity of people will be more helpful to avoid the terrorists activities. I compliment the people of Jaipur and Rajasthan for facing the situation courageously and maintaining peace and communal harmony. This atmosphere will strengthen the efforts of the government to fight the terrorist menace.

I wish you all success in fighting the terrorism in your state which is a big challenge to the safety and security of the people of the country.

(INN)