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Minority commission to visit Orissa, brief PM

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  • With no let up in communal violence in the BJD-BJP ruled Orissa, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) announced a visit to the trouble-torn state to assess the relief and rehabilitation work being done there.

    This will be the fourth team of the Commission to visit Orissa in the last ten months. "The Commission is sending a two-member delegation comprising of the NCM Vice Chairman Michael P Pinto and member Harcharan Singh Josh to Orissa next week to assess the relief and rehabilitation work being done by the state government," NCM Chairman Md Shafi Qureshi said on Thursday.

    "The Commission is more interested in seeing that the rehabilitation and resettlement of the violence affected Christian minority members is carried out properly. Most of the victims are still living in forests minus any medical facility and proper shelter," Qureshi said.

    "The state government has made a relief package. But we don't know what is being done. Hence the visit is proposed," he added.

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    The Commission also plans to carry out a public hearing in violence-hit areas of the state next month.

    "We will be going for a public hearing there as the situation warrants it. We are deeply concerned with violence continuing in the state. Incidents of fresh violence are being reported now from districts other than Kandhamal in Orissa, which warrant serious attention," said NCM Vice Chairman Michael P Pinto.

    Earlier a four member team of NCM led by its Chairman Md Shafi Qureshi briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh regarding its findings on Orissa violence on Wednesday.

    The Commission had submitted a report a fortnight ago to the Prime Minister Office (PMO) on this issue after the visit of the NCM Vice Chairman Pinto to Kandhamal and other affected districts between September 11 to September 13 after violence broke out against Christian institutions there in wake of the killing of VHP leader Laxmananda Saraswati on August 23.

    Besides a few eye-witness accounts, the report also had copies of threat letters issued to Christians. The Commission told the PM that the Christians living in the government camps are being asked to "convert" to Hinduism if they want to return home, sources said.

    NCM also demanded action under the existing Orissa Freedom of Religion Act against those who are forcing Christians to convert to Hinduism.

    In its eleven-point recommendation, the Commission stressed on "firm action" against the "instigators of violence, who spread communal hatred". "If the state is unable to do it, the Centre should consider an appropriate response," the NCM report said.

    Rubbishing the charge of forced conversions of tribal into Christians, the NCM report said, "If indeed conversions by force or fraud were responsible for the feelings against Christians, it is amazing that provisions of Freedom of Religion Act, designed to precisely to address such conversions, have never been invoked."

    In an oblique reference to Bajrang Dal, the Commission also recommended that all organisations, which spread communal hatred should be banned.

    "The recommendation asks for ban on all communal organizations and they obviously include Bajrang Dal," Qureshi said.

    Minority Commission's Orissa VisitBy: RAJU KHAN | 09-Oct-2008 Reply | Forward It is well known that the NCM is an anti-Hindu and anti-national body . Whereas, they do'nt find anything wrong with terrorist organisation like SIMI and IM, certifying them to be patriotic, they find all the ills with nationalistic Bajarang Dal, RSS and VHP. It seems that UPA Govt is wasting tax-payers money on these NCM members, for its vote bank politics only.
    Minority commission is a joker commissionBy: Sameer | 09-Oct-2008 Reply | Forward We should call the minority commission as a Joker commission. They go to the places wher incident took place, comeback to Delhi and give the reports to Center but no action.BJP, RSS , Bajrangdal and associates spread their anarchism without ant fear and concern. Minority commission should not waist the public money unnessary.
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