A day after he was released from the Coimbatore jail, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Abdul Nasser Mahdhani is all set to pick up where he left off. He plans to give his political career a new start and has taken up the Dalit-Muslim unity formula to help him achieve this goal.
On Thursday, gone was the fundamentalist and in his place was a man who pledged never to toe the extremist line. Looking tired, Mahdhani said he had no plans to sue any government or organisation for his nine-year “ordeal” — a period that saw him go from 110 kg to a trim 54 kg. Though he said some forces had tried to prevent his parole, he did not name names. Rejoicing in his new found martyr status, the 42-year-old even pardoned the alleged RSS assailants who attacked him in 1992. He lost his right leg in the attack.
“Nine years of incarceration taught me many lessons. It helped me realise some of my past mistakes,” he said. “I will ask the court to drop the charges against my attackers,” he said, adding he would devote the his life to fostering communal amity. Mahdhani said he would be the first to use the term ‘Dalit’ in south India. “I will try to forge the unity of these two (Muslims and Dalits).”
Meanwhile, BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi described Mahdhani as India’s Osama bin Laden and termed his acquittal as an act of hypocrisy by the secular parties.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi described Mahdhani as India’s Osama bin Laden and termed his acquittal as an act of hypocrisy by the secular parties.
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