MADURAI: In the wake of a BJP party flag being removed from a public place near the party's state president K Annamalai's house in Chennai, BJP minority morcha's national secretary Syed Ibrahim claimed the police had removed the flag based on directions from the state government after some Muslim organisations protested against the flag installation.
Addressing media persons in Madurai, Ibrahim said the BJP cadre dealt with the issue peacefully. "However, the police attacked the cadre and made them disperse from the spot. Flags of DMK and VCK are hoisted in the same locality. But the officials have taken no action. The BJP flag was removed based on a complaint from a Muslim person, who claimed that Muslims were the majority in the area. Acting on this kind of complaint will cause a rift between Muslims and Hindus," he said and added that to condemn the police action, his party members will hoist 10,000 BJP flags in the state from November 1 onwards.
Commenting on the issue of remission of prisoners' sentences, the minority morcha leader said, "I am against the usage of 'Muslim' prisoners while seeking remission of sentences. There should not be any partiality shown towards Hindu or Muslim prisoners. Anyway, our party is not against the premature release of any prisoners, except those indicted in incidents like the Coimbatore bomb blast case. Meanwhile, the DMK is playing drama over the issue. On one hand, they are asking the Governor to sanction the early release of Muslim convicts, and on the other, they are taking a stand in court against the release."