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Strike
Paralyses Life in Gujarat, Mumbai As Delhi Remains Normal
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| Elderly Muslim
passes by closed shops in Ahmedabad during the strike |
By
IOL South Asia Correspondent
NEW
DELHI, September 27 (IslamOnline) - Life in India’s national capital
remained almost normal Thursday, September 26, despite the Vishwa
Hindu Parishad (VHP) call for an all-India strike to protest
Tuesday’s terrorist attack on Akhshardham Swaminarayan temple in
Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
A
strike is a complete cessation of all commercial and other activities,
including plying of buses, taxis and trains. VHP is a militant
anti-Christian, anti-Muslim organization, an affiliate of the ruling
Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).
However,
for political reasons this time, the BJP has chosen to stay away from
VHP’s call in Gujarat, Delhi and some other places. Breaking from
the central leadership, the Maharashtra state BJP unit participated in
the strike.
At
other places also, BJP workers were seen enforcing the strike despite
the fact that their party had clearly said it would not participate in
it.
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| BJP/VHP
activists demonstrating against Pakistani High Commission in
Delhi |
Life
was totally paralyzed in Gujarat as all commercial establishments
remained closed and educational institutions declared holiday. At
quite a few places in Gujarat banks kept shutters half open. Bajrang
Dal activists stabbed two persons in Surat. Open shops in Gujarat
towns as well as in Mumbai were attacked and ransacked by the Hindu
zealots.
Heavy
deployment of police, army and paramilitary forces in the big cities
of Gujarat, Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara saw to it that the nasty
anti-Muslim pogrom of March-April was not replayed. The pogrom had
begun with a strike like Thursday’s.
Car
movement on roads in Gujarat state capital was extremely thin,
consisting of official cars. Buses were taken off the road to avoid
attacks on them. During the anti-Muslim pogrom, buses too were
attacked.
Gujarat
chief minister Narendra Modi was advised by the central leadership not
to allow a repeat of March-April pogrom which had brought shame to the
state, party and country.
Modi
seemed to have reined in his anti-Muslim propensities and refrained
from dangerous anti-Muslim gimmicks, although he could not help
repeating his allegations that Pakistan was behind the attack on the
temple.
In
Ahmedabad, Muslims who had begun to return from relief camps to their
looted and burnt homes, scampered off to the camps again fearing
violence during the strike as they remembered the last round of pogrom
began with a similar strike called by the same hoodlums.
Muslims
said they were not taking chances this time. Most of them fled to
safer areas as early as Tuesday, September 24, even as the terrorist
killings were underway.
Muslims
fleeing the scene did not bother to switch off lights or lock their
homes before leaving. Muslims have been praying for this new threat to
pass off peacefully.
In
Gujarat’s big cities, the army staged flag marches to reassure
citizens that all was well. BJP leaders instead of making incendiary
speeches like last time, made an appeal to people to remain peaceful.
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