Lucknow: The Ulema Council will hold a
rally here on February 20 to press for a judicial probe into
the Batla House encounter besides raising other issues facing
Muslims in the country, its President Aamir Rashadi Madani
on Thursday said.
Besides demanding a judicial probe into the encounter
the rally will also forcefully raise the demand for nine
per cent separate reservation to backward Muslims within the
27 per cent quota for backwards and reservation for those
members of the community who were doing the same jobs which
were being performed traditionally by the SCs and STs, Madani
told reporters here.
Taking strong exception to what he termed "media trial"
of those arrested on charges of terrorism, Madani, who had
earlier taken `Ulema express" train to Delhi from Azamgarh and
organised a rally at the Jantar Mantar, also called for a
follow-up to apprise the public when these terror accused are
declared as not guilty by the courts.
Stressing that it was wrong to associate any religion
with terrorism, Madani said there was a conspiracy to divide
the country and blamed the successive governments for not
addressing the problem in right earnest.
On charges that terror was being sponsored by Pakistan,
Madni said if that was the case all ties with that country
should have been snapped but it appears that a shadow boxing
match was going on between the two nations.
PTI
