VHP action a political conspiracy, says Bukhari

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, OCT. 19. The Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid here, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, today urged his community not to get provoked by the actions of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Uttar Pradesh ``aimed at creating communal tension so as to benefit the ruling BJP in the coming Assembly elections.'' Urging restraint, the Shahi Imam said the ``fundamentalist'' RSS-VHP-BJP troika had laid a trap for Muslims with the sole objective of ``polarisation of votes on communal lines'' in Uttar Pradesh.

Referring to the VHP leader, Mr. Ashok Singhal's forcible entry into the sanctum sanctorum at the disputed structure in Ayodhya, he said, ``this is a political conspiracy hatched by them. After miserably failing in governance and even their own traditional vote bank slipping away, they now think that the only way to win the election is to raise communal tension. This time we will not fall prey to them. We understand this conspiracy.''

``We will wait and watch for the steps taken by the Union Government. We have faith in our judiciary. We want to abide by the law. We will act after we feel that both the court and the Government have failed to deliver,'' he added. At the Friday prayers here, Syed Ahmed Bukhari continued with his attack on the U.S. for bombarding the ``innocent'' people of Afghanistan. He criticised the Organisation of Islamic Countries for supporting the U.S. in the attack.

'Air-drop Shahi Imam'

PTI reports:

``The Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid should be air-dropped in Kandahar. It will help him and India as well,'' Ms. Shabana Azmi, MP and film star, has said.

``If the Shahi Imam is so keen to help the so-called on-going jehad in Afghanistan then the air-dropping will help both him and the Indian Government as the country will also not face any problem by his provocative statements which lead to communal tension,'' she said at a Muslim gathering here to denounce the Imam's support to Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in the terrorist attacks in the U.S.

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