“We have not objected to any action taken against such organizations. Even during the UPA regime, actions have been taken against such sectarian organizations. They have been put behind bars. Nothing is permissible in this country beyond the Constitution,” Saiyed told media on Wednesday.
Stating that the Muslims in India never resorted to terrorism or fundamentalism, Saiyed accused BJP and some of its members of parliament of trying to provoke fundamentalism in Muslims through their statements on the floor of the house and outside.
“The country’s biggest minority – Muslims – has been behaving responsibly,” Saiyed said, alleging that the BJP-led NDA government has a mission, through their various controversial statements related to communal disharmony, to force Muslims to take to the battle field and become fundamentalists.
“There may be some organizations speaking nonsense, but that does not mean that they are terrorists,” Saiyed said, while addressing the media. He was replying to the question whether he thought that IM is not a terror outfit, after the Congress leader stated that the Indian-born Muslims are not fundamentalists and terrorists.
Responding to a question on terrorists who have struck India in past, he said, “I am categorical. They are not of Indian origin. There is no scope for Indian origin Muslims to be terrorists.”
The IM, on June 4, 2010 was declared a terrorist organization and banned by the government of India. The organization is also on the terror list of several other nations including the United States. The Union government’s investigating agency had revealed the group to be a front for the Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The Congress leader accused the BJP of trying to polarise minority votes through their agenda. “The present agenda of the BJP is to do polarization of votes and keep the BJP alive in politics. The day people realize that the base of BJP’s politics is only polarization, the party won’t last for long,” he said.
Saiyed was in Goa to create awareness among the minorities with regards to the massive farmers’ rally and demonstration called by AICC on April 19, at Ramlila Maidan, against the Land Acquisition Act.
