After Shatrughan Sinha had praised Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Majeed Memon, a senior leader of the NCP, has lauded the Pakistani leader. As reported by India Today, he said, “Jinnah made a big contribution to the freedom struggle, just because he was a Muslim you are offended and are calling Shatrughan Sinha anti-national.” Congress and the NCP are currently in an alliance for the 2019 general elections.
Jinnah made a big contribution to the freedom struggle, just because he was a Muslim you are offended and are calling Shatrughan Sinha anti-national, says Majeed Memon, NCP
For LIVE updates: https://t.co/0gUvoWmqky pic.twitter.com/ME7gff1HN2— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) April 28, 2019
Shatrughan Sinha had earlier praised Jinnah and said, “From Mahatma Gandhi to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, all part of Congress Parivar, had an important role to play in country’s development and independence, says Shatrughan Sinha.”
From Mahatma Gandhi to Muhammad Ali Jinnah, all part of Congress Parivar, had an important role to play in country's development and independence, says Shatrughan Sinha
Read @ANI story | https://t.co/nWtim79EsV pic.twitter.com/zAmrIKCSn8
— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) April 27, 2019
Jinnah, who was a flag bearer of the separatist ideology during the freedom struggle, fought for the idea of creation of Pakistan. While many opposed creation of a separate nation based on religious ideology, formation of Pakistan got major support from the infamous Muslim league, which was headed by Jinnah. Partition of India saw the migration of around 14 million people and the deaths of several lakhs of Indians.
A party going to the lengths of praising the architect of the scheme for the mass murder of lakhs of Indians only shows the ideological bankruptcy that is prevailing in the opposition camp. Many believe this ‘newfound’ praise for Jinnah can also be a desperate attempt to appease the minority voters.
NCP has also been struggling to fight the BJP in their strongholds. According to sources, Ajit Pawar, senior NCP leader and ex- Dy CM of Maharashtra had also personally contacted 80 BJP and 5 Shiv Sena corporators, in the industrial city of Maval, to lend a helping hand for securing a victory for his son. Parth Pawar, a London educated lad has been directly brought in the center of NCP’s huge dynastic political empire.
NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar was also seen trying hard to bring together anti-BJP parties in a single fold, however like in Delhi, where alliance talks between AAP and Congress failed, his attempts seem to be unfruitful. With comments of this nature, both Congress and the NCP will have to answer tough questions regarding their support for separatist forces in the nation.
Recently PC Chako of the Congress had also praised separatist Yasin Malik, chief of the banned group Jammu Kashmir Liberation Force. He had said, “If Pragya Singh Thakur, a convicted person, an accused person, can contest an election, and in the name of separatism, Delhi is asking him (Yasin Malik) at gun point to surrender, anyone with self respect will react the way Mr. Yasin Malik did.“ He also praised him for his ‘courage’. Yasin Malik was arrested recently by the NIA in the alleged ‘terror funding” case.
India, over the past few years, has been seeing opposition parties acting as apologists for separatist and terrorist forces. This incident involving senior leaders of the NCP and the Congress only reiterates a new trend that few parties have taken up, in order to polarize and appease the minorities. Comments like these are not only disrespectful to Indian freedom fighters who lost their lives for India’s independence, but also a slap on the face of crores of Indians, whose forefathers had to flee ‘Pakistan’ to save their families.
