Cong’s Nuh candidate promises law against lynching
The BJP has never won from Nuh and the voters here have historically supported the Congress and the INLD.
A law against lynching in the name of cow protection and a judicial inquiry into the communal violence that rocked the district last year are among the promises being made by the Congress’ Aftab Ahmed, who is seeking re-election from the Muslim-dominated Nuh constituency in Haryana. Ahmed, the deputy leader of opposition in the outgoing Haryana assembly, says there were warnings ahead of the communal violence and he had raised concerns with the administration beforehand but they “let it happen”, not only causing loss of lives and property but also faith.
“The communal violence that rocked Nuh district last year was because of the BJP’s propagation of anti-social elements in the garb of ‘gau rakshaks’, they created a fear psychosis and the atmosphere was charged up. As MLA, I brought it to the notice of the administration that ‘you should prevent such incidents’ but they let it happen,” Ahmed said.
“The chief minister was busy having a meeting in Rewari, only 300 policemen were deputed for the entire route despite anti-social elements from both sides issuing challenges… They let it happen and till date we have been demanding that a judicial inquiry be held (to find) the officers responsible, the causes of such violence and the way they handled the violence,” he added.
Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, were killed in the clashes that erupted in Nuh over an attempt to stop a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) procession and spread to Gurugram. Police later slapped Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) charges against the Congress’ Ferozepur Jhirka MLA, Mamman Khan.
“A day after the violence, they demolished the homes of some people who were not even involved...,” Ahmed said.
Ahmed (58) is pitted against the BJP’s Sanjay Singh, the sitting MLA from Sohna constituency, in Nuh. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) has fielded Tahir Hussain, son of Zakir Hussain, a three-time MLA from the constituency and chairperson of the Haryana Waqf Board. He recently joined the INLD.
The BJP has never won from Nuh and the voters here have historically supported the Congress and the INLD.
“The BJP focused on misgovernance, politics of hatred, divisive politics to keep the area devoid of any development. The differential treatment meted out to certain areas and fanning politics of hatred will lead to the BJP’s downfall,” Ahmed said.
Nuh was established as a separate district in 2005 from parts of what was then Gurgaon and Faridabad. It has three assembly constituencies — Nuh, Ferozepur Jhirka and Punhana.
Nuh is the only constituency in the Muslim-dominated district where the BJP has not fielded a Muslim candidate.