CALCUTTA: Union civil aviation minister Ghulam Nabi Azad announced here recently that keeping in view reports of misuse of TADA, the government was considering restricting its use to Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.
Azad, who was addressing the inaugural session of the two-day All India Muslim Conference, had to face criticism both from the audience and other speakers, who accused him of remaining a silent spectator to the misuse of TADA against “non-criminal Muslims.
Replying to the charge, Azad said that he was among the first to have publicly described the Act as ‘anti-minority and anti-Muslim.” It was only after he had brought the matter to the notice of the Prime Minister that a number of meetings were held with the chic ministers of Maharashtra and Gujarat to stop its misuse against the minority community.
He said the government was trying to evolve modalities to restrict the use of TADA only against militants in Punjab and in Jammu and Kashmir.
Incidentally, the conference is being held to highlight the social educational and economic backwardness of the Muslim community. Most of the speakers demanded reservation for Muslims in government jobs and in educational institutions,
Among those who attended the conference were Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Syed Shahabuddin, Syed Muzaffar Hussain Burney.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 10, 1995
