MoS Ahamed visits Jamia Nagar

The Minister of State for External Affairs, E Ahamed, who also happens to be the president of the Indian Union Muslim League...

The Minister of State for External Affairs, E Ahamed, who also happens to be the president of the Indian Union Muslim League, went to Jamia Nagar and held discussions with local leaders and residents.

Meeting several prominent persons and members of the recently-formed Jamia Nagar Coordination Committee, Ahamed is said to have had a free and frank exchange of opinions. According to two senior local leaders present at the meeting, he tried to “assuage popular sentiment in the area following the encounter” which led to the death of a police officer and two suspected militants.

Before meeting locals in the area, Ahamed also met the Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, Prof Mushirul Hasan. Two students of the university are under detention in connection with the Delhi blasts, and one of the two killed in the encounter was also on the university’s rolls since August this year.

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Ahamed, speaking to The Indian Express, denied he had been appointed as any kind of an emissary of the UPA government to the minorities, but said: “Whenever a set of people have a grievance, they have to be heard. I did that, and have been doing so all my life. I also told them of the declared policy of the Government to not punish any innocent person. But I also emphasised that anyone found guilty by the appropriate authority, the courts, shall be dealt with sternly.”

When asked if the UPA was facing a piquant situation with the possibility of an erosion in its Muslim support base as a result of the police action, Ahamed said: “All governments face such situations at some point of time. Talking, negotiating, listening to them at a time like this always helps.”