NCM,Nitish govt in war of words over Forbesganj firing

The police firing in Forbesganj in which four Muslims were killed has become a point of confrontation between the National Commission for Minorities and the Bihar government.

The police firing in Forbesganj in which four Muslims were killed has become a point of confrontation between the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) and the Bihar government.

With the Nitish Kumar government refusing to implement the recommendations made by the minority panel pointing out that a judicial probe was on into the incident and it would prefer to wait for its findings,NCM chief Wajahat Habibullah has now accused the state government of using the probe as an excuse to cover inaction to implement the suggestions.

At the heart of the tussle is a report sent by the panel after a visit to Forbesganj by Habibullah and NCM member Syeda Bilgrami Imam. The panel had recommended urgent steps for rehabilitation of the families of those affected and changes in the local administration and some long-term measures for expediting and streamlining development work in the area.

Story continues below this ad

The Government of Bihar is using the instituting of the judicial commission as an excuse to cover complete inaction on any of the recommendations made by this commission, Habibullah has said in a letter to Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.

Khurshid has come into the picture as it was his ministry which had forwarded the NCMs note to the Bihar government. In reply to that note,Bihar Minorities Affairs Minister Shahid Ali Khan had written to Khurshid that the state government would wait for the findings of the judicial probe before taking any action,especially regarding payment of compensation and action against the police personnel.

That letter was forwarded to Habibullah who has now hit back.

Interestingly,the Bihar minister had also made a mention of the police firing in Gopalgarh in Congress-ruled Rajasthan in which 10 Muslims were killed,pointing out that Muslims in Bihar were deeply distressed by that incident. The NCM chief was not amused at the mention of Gopalgarh firing,which,he felt,was an unnecessary attempt to give such incidents a political colour.

Story continues below this ad

Hitting back at Khan,Habibullah has pointed out that the Rajasthan government has not made the judicial and CBI inquiry an excuse for inaction,but has proceeded to take action under the law,wherever merited.