Opinion The Urdu Press: PM in UAE

Rashtriya Sahara, in its editorial on August 18, writes: “Narendra Modi, who became prime minister with the slogan ‘sab ka saath, sab ka vikas’ has won the hearts of Muslims by paying his first visit to a Gulf country — the United Arab Emirates.

August 21, 2015 12:43 AM IST First published on: Aug 21, 2015 at 12:43 AM IST

PM in UAE
Rashtriya Sahara, in its editorial on August 18, writes: “Narendra Modi, who became prime minister with the slogan ‘sab ka saath, sab ka vikas’ has won the hearts of Muslims by paying his first visit to a Gulf country — the United Arab Emirates. Expressing in words the emotions stirring within him following a visit to a grand mosque, he said that Islam is a symbol of peace and amity. During his two-day visit he concentrated his attention on energy, security, trade and investment… The decision of the UAE government to allot land for a temple in Abu Dhabi will be like a lamp of amity and harmony for non-Muslims… that will create a soft corner for Muslims in their hearts and promote intense mutual affection. It is hoped that the visit would demoralise communal forces, and that some BJP leaders who make thoughtless statements that hurt Muslims would be reined in and will now control their tongues in awe of their leader Narendra Modi.”

Roznama Khabrain, in its editorial on the same day, says: “By publicising Modi’s visit to a mosque and the allotment of land for a temple as his biggest achievements, an attempt is being made to dwarf the stature of Modi. Even earlier, the PM had undertaken a ziarat (pious visit) to a mosque in Turkmenistan. In fact, this visit should be looked at from the viewpoint of foreign policy and not as a religious spectacle.”

Bihar Polls
Inquilab, in its editorial titled “Initiative of secular forces”, on August 14, writes: “The electoral atmosphere in Bihar signifies the struggle for keeping the state out of the clutches of communal forces, for which the secular forces have shown wisdom and come together. There has been no controversy on the division of seats… The dominant motivation for the grand alliance (of the JD(U), RJD and Congress) is that none of its constituents is capable of contesting this election on its own… At a time when there is a real danger of communal forces dominating the entire country, there is a need to save whatever can be saved.”

Syed Faisal Ali, group editor of Sahara Urdu Media, in his column in Rashtriya Sahara, writes on August 16: “The division of seats in the NDA will be a difficult task along with the tricky question of who would be its CM candidate, whereas the initiative of the grand alliance is very positive and extremely meaningful and there has been no controversy about Nitish Kumar’s choice as the CM candidate. The large-heartedness shown by the Janata Parivar in giving 40 seats to the Congress can signal things for national politics… Once again, the snake of emotional politics is being taken out of the basket (pitara) for dividing the Muslim vote, whose direct benefit would go to the NDA. There is a need for the Muslims of Bihar… to follow the traditional tenets of the Muslim-Yadav (MY) alliance in order to scatter the saffron clouds…”

Aseemanand Strategy
Inquilab, on August 13, writes: “The decision of the Central government not to challenge the bail for the prime accused in the Samjhauta Express, Mecca Masjid and Malegaon blasts, Swami Aseemanand, who had confessed to his crime… demonstrates the worst type of partisanship on the government’s part. It is determined to release those accused of playing a leading part in anti-minority riots… and unpardonable roles in destructive blasts in different parts of the country… Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s statement regarding ‘Hindu’ terrorism, too, needs to be considered in this context.”

The editor of Jadeed Khabar, Masoom Moradabadi, in his signed column on August 17, writes: “Swami Aseemanand is very closely associated with the Sangh Parivar and he has been in touch with many important leaders of the BJP. He had confessed before a metropolitan magistrate of Delhi in 2007… It’s quite possible that the strategy of going soft on Aseemanand may have been adopted to give a fitting reply to Pakistan for showing leniency to the prime accused in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi.”

Compiled by Seema Chishti