Headlines
Muslim quota meet in Pune refused use of ground
Pune, Feb 2
Police Monday refused permission
to a proposed Muslim conference on reservations, scheduled here Feb 4,
on technical grounds and after objections from the Pune Cantonment Board
and the local Shiv Sena.
In a written communication, Vanavdi
police station head Bapurao Kale informed the organizers that the CEO of
Pune Cantonment Board had objected to the Golibar Maidan being allotted
for the public conference, titled "Muslim Arakshan Parishad", scheduled
to be addressed by AIMIM president and MP Asaduddin Owaisi.
"The
open Golibar Maidan is intended for commercial purposes and not for
holding a public meeting as we have planned. Police have refused
permission and advised us to opt for a closed ground or hall for our
event," a spokesperson for organizer Rafi Anjum Inamdar told IANS.
The
conference, jointly organised by Mulnivasi Muslim Manch and Action
Committee Maharashtra, has listed a retired Bombay High Court judge B.G.
Kolse-Patil, who heads the Lokshashan Andolan, several NGOs and other
Maratha political activists, as speakers.
Besides the PCB's
reservations, local Shiv Sena president Vinayak Nimhan has objected to
the conference and sought restrictions on it as Owaisi's speeches could
created communal hatred.
Submitting a memorandum to the police
commissioner demanding restrictions on the event and Owaisi, he claimed
that Owaisi's speech may "disrupt communal harmony" and warned that his
party would not tolerate any objectionable remarks at the conference.
Inamdar
reacted saying it was strange that the Shiv Sena has demanded curbs on a
Lok Sabha MP's speech even before he has spoken. "Let him first speak
then decide whether it is objectionable or not."
The ACM and MMM
said in a statement that the conference was "apolitical and it had no
intentions of spreading animosity among communities".
Inamdar and AIMIM legislator Waris Pathan said that they are trying to finalise an alternate venue for the conference soon.