'Muslim votes only if communal violence bill cleared'

Over 1,000 Muslims Monday protested against the Congress party at the Jantar Mantar here, demanding the immediate clearance of the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence bill.

Shouting slogans like "Bill nahi to vote nahi (no bill, no vote)" and "Insaaf nahi toh vote nahi (no justice, no vote)", victims of the Muzaffarnagar riots along with more than 200 lawyers from the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Lawyers Forum demanded the immediate clearance of the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence bill in parliament.

"We can't tolerate this. Our community has been ignored and brushed aside by both the Uttar Pradesh government and the central government," said Md. Aslam Khan, president of AMU Lawyers Forum.

He said the Congress, in its party manifesto, prior to the 2004 general elections, had mentioned the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence bill and on the basis of that, they gained the faith and trust of Muslims in the country. But now, we have realised it is just a cunning trick to win elections.

Calling the prevailing law and order situation in the country "jungle law", he told IANS he wants to challenge Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to get rid of the party's fake promises and try to arrive at a consensus to pass the bill in parliament or else the Congress should stop dreaming of Muslim votes.

The delegation from the AMU Lawyers Forum also presented a memorandum to President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, speaker of the Lok Sabha Meira Kumar and chairman of the Rajya Sabha M. Hamid Ansari.

Speaking on the occasion, Md. Shafiq-ur-Rehman Warq, member of parliament and a forum member said it was important for all people from the minority community to stand for the cause.

"The clearance of the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence bill is very important to ensure the welfare of the minority classes," Warq said.