Azam Khan Azam Khan

Amid a political blame-game over the lynching of a 50-year-old Muslim man in Dadri, senior UP minister Azam Khan has sought the intervention of United Nations to look into the “miseries” of minorities in India. In a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Khan also accused the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) of planning to convert “secular and pluralistic India” into a “majoritarian theocratic nation as Hindu Rashtra”.

“Fascist forces are attempting to create a divide in the society by launching a hate campaign against Muslims and Dadri incident is an example of this,” Azam told reporters here while releasing the letter in Lucknow.

He said the “real essence of freedom and secularism” has never been under question or threat as it has been in the last-one-and-a-half years after the new government took charge.

“Most of its members have been longtime workers and cadres of RSS and its other affiliates, they pledge their obedience to this organisation first…ideology or world view of this organisation is an article of faith for them,” the UP minority welfare minister said.

Azam, however, said that his letter to the UN should not be taken as a statement against India as it is an appeal. “The UN was constituted to ensure that human rights were not violated in the world and it is viewed equally, therefore I have narrated my pain before it (through the letter),” he said, adding that the letter has been written in personal capacity and not on his official letterhead.

The senior Samajwadi Party, leader, however, claimed that he has little hope from the UN. “When we did not get justice from our own, then what will the world give us?,” he asked.

Azam claimed that he was forced to write the letter “to expose the dual character” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj “as both gave a sugar-laced speech in the UN while Dadri occurred in India”.

Praising media, he said that it exposed “the preparations for genocide of Muslims” in Dadri and facist forces that failed in their designs. “Both, Dadri and Babri, are same. There was court stay on Babri but it was demolished,” he said, claiming that the lynching of the Muslim man in Dadri was “a part of a big plan”.

“The mood in Bihar elections has changed. Development and backward-forward issues have taken a back seat and only beef controversy is there,” he said, adding that Dadri was also political field of Union Home Minister’s (Rajnath Singh) son.

He also demanded that a round table conference should be called with the RSS, BJP, PM and President to discuss the campaign against Muslims in the name of beef and attempts to turn India into a Hindu nation. He said “millions” of minorities in the country have every right to enjoy freedom guaranteed by the Indian Constitution, UN and world authorities as an international agreement.

He lamented that a Muslim was killed on the suspicion of eating beef while others like Justice (retd) Markandey Katju, who claim to eat it are not touched.

On BJP MLA Sangeet Som’s statement in Dadri, Khan said, “He can do what he says…when those in power want to eliminate someone then it will be hard to contest. Situation in Iraq, Libiya and Egypt is before us”.

Azam alleged that even Som has a partnership in a slaughterhouse while most of them are owned by non-Muslims whose licenses are issued by central government.

He also defended Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for not visiting Dadri on grounds that it would have led to security concern.

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