Shias blame Mulayam, Mayawati

The Azaradi procession is purely a religious issue which is being converted into a political one by a section of the Shia leadership, said Maulana Hamidul Hasan. “I will never agree to such stupid acts like violent protests, only to spill the blood of our brethren,” Hasan said.

Kalbe Jawwad was taking unilateral decisions and wanted us to approve them, Hasan said. “But we will not agree to any decision which instead of benefitting the community aimed at giving mileage to a particular political party,” he added.

Jawwad countered by accusing both Ruhi and Hasan of being Mayawati’s mouthpieces. “She is not saying anything but these people have become the loudspeakers for her ideas,” he told The Indian Express yesterday.

Moreover, he alleged that these leaders were never sincere in their struggle for lifting of 20-year-old ban on the Azadari procession. “They never cooperated with my father Maulana Kalbe Abid or my uncle, Maulana Kalbe Sadiq. How could they support my call for protest demonstrations on Chehellum,” he retorted.

However, Jawwad maintains that the entire Shia community was behind him and the frustration of both Ruhi and Hasan was understandable because the community had rejected their leadership. “I did not take the decision to vehemently protest the ban on Azadari processions on my own but under pressure from the entire community,” he said.

On the other hand, Ruhi launched a frontal attack on a young Jawwad by claiming that Shia-Sunni unity was possible only through the experience of the elders and not through the enthusiasm of the young generation. “I cannot involve myself in any agitation which might mislead our community,” he said.

On Jawwad’s charge that the entire Shia community was with him, Hasan said: “It will become clear in the next few days about who enjoys the support of the Shia community. Some people might have been misled in the name of religion and emotions, but they too will soon understand the reality.”

Both Hasan and Ruhi squarely put the blame on Jawwad for reversing the decision for toned down protests taken after talks with the two-member peace committee formed by the Government.

“We too had participated in talks with the Government panel, but never consented to the decision for violent protests only because Maulana Bukhari had been arrested,” Ruhi said.

Meanwhile, an undeterred Jawwad has announced a fresh schedule for another round of agitations. Shias who are determined to take the agitation to its logical end will again defy the ban on July 4 (28th Safar) and July 14 (8th Rabi-ul-Awwal), he said.