I supported Mulayam when no one supported him, Shahid Siddiqui says

July 29, 2012

Shahid_Siddiqui

New Delhi, July 29: Former MP and expelled Samajwadi Party leader Shahid Siddiqui on Sunday cried foul over his removal from the party.

Reacting over his dismissal for conducting an Urdu interview with controversial Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, Siddiqui said that Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav owed a lot of his popularity to him, as Siddiqui had written in his support at a time when no other publication had.

"Mulayam Singhji has been in politics for the last 40 years, and I have written a lot supporting him. My paper - Nai Duniya - has worked when nobody was supporting Mulayam Singhji in 1983, when he took out his first 'yatra' (journey). It was my paper which worked and wrote for Mulayam Singhji, and I have never asked him for any favour," he said.

Siddiqui, who is the editor of Urdu weekly 'Nai Duniya', said that the Samajwadi Party's stance on the Modi interview was disrespectful of the freedom of the press, and that no party in his two decades of political life, had restricted his journalistic freedom.

"This is like shooting the messenger, and this attitude of the Samajwadi Party is not only laughable, but also a disrespect for any kind of freedom, not only freedom within the party, but even the freedom of expression and the freedom of the press. I have been in politics for the last 20 years, and I have been in journalism for the last 40 years, but no party ever stopped me from doing my journalistic work," he said.

Going on to claim that he had written against former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi even when he was a member of the Congress, and had not drawn a vindictive reaction in return, Siddiqui added that just because he interviewed Modi did not mean that he supported the latter.

"I have opposed Modi tooth and nail all my life, and I oppose him even now. Interviewing somebody does not mean supporting that person. This shows that you are naive, you do not understand journalism, you do not understand what freedom is, and people who have this kind of attitude are, in fact, a threat to democracy if they are allowed to get away with this kind of attitude," Siddiqui said.

Siddiqui started his political career with the Congress, moving on to the Samajwadi Party, followed by stints with the Bahujan Samaj Party ( BSP) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD), before returning to the SP fold in January 2012, his latest spell lasting well under a year.

Modi raised hackles when he refused to apologise for the Gujarat riots on the contention it would be an acknowledgement of his complicity.

Modi has led Gujarat for over a decade, and there are speculations of his seeking a larger role in national politics.


Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 28,2020

Feb 28: For 30-year-old Shabana Parveen, it was nothing sort of a miracle — giving birth to a healthy baby boy after surviving a brutal attack by a mob who kicked and assaulted her and her husband in northeast Delhi's Karawal Nagar.

Their home set afire by the mob, Ms Parveen's family is now pinning their hopes on the newborn who they called a "miracle baby".

Ms Parveen, her husband, two kids and mother-in-law were sleeping inside the house on Monday night when a mob barged into their house.

Narrating their ordeal, Ms Parveen's mother-in-law Nashima told PTI, "They hurled religious slurs, beat up my son. Some of them even kicked my daughter-in-law in the abdomen...as I went to protect her they came charging at me... We thought we would not survive that night. But with God's grace we somehow managed to escape from the clutches of the rioters."

"We rushed Parveen to a nearby hospital but doctors there asked us to go to Al-hind Hospital where she delivered a baby boy on Wednesday," she added.

Despite having lost their home for over two decades and all belongings, her family has overcome the initial shock and are now overjoyed with the birth of the "miracle baby".

Ms Nashima said she had no clue where the family would go after Ms Parveen was discharged from the hospital.

"It's all gone there. Nothing left. Maybe, we will go to some relative's place and see how we can re-build our life," she said.

Ali, 6, who held his one-day-old brother, caressing his forehead, said, "I will take care of him forever and save him from every ill."

The violence over the amended citizenship law in northeast Delhi has claimed 38 lives so far and left over 200 people injured. Frenzied mobs torched houses, shops, vehicles, a petrol pump and pelted stones at locals and police personnel.

Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Yamuna Vihar, Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh and Shiv Vihar are among the areas mainly affected by the clashes.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 13,2020

New Delhi, Jun 13: India's COVID-19 tally on Saturday witnessed its highest-ever spike of 11,458 cases, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

A total of 386 deaths have been reported due to the infection during the last 24 hours.

The total number of coronavirus cases in the country now stands at 3,08,993 including 1,45,779 active cases 1,54,330 cured/discharged/migrated and 8,884 deaths.

COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra continue to soar with the number reaching 101141. Tamil Nadu's coronavirus count stands at 40,698 while cases in Delhi reached 36,824.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 27,2020

New Delhi, Jun 27: Fuel prices were hiked by the oil marketing companies for the 21st day in a row on Saturday. Petrol and diesel will now cost Rs 80.38/litre and Rs 80.40/litre respectively in the national capital.

The price of petrol is increased by Rs 0.25 per litre while that of diesel by Rs 0.21 per litre.
Rates differ from state to state depending on the incidence of value-added tax (VAT).

Notably, oil marketing companies have been adjusting retail rates in line with costs after an 82-day break from rate revision amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. These firms on June 7 restarted revising prices in line with costs.

The Congress party had called the increase in the price of petrol and diesel 'unjust', 'thoughtless' and demanded from the Central government to roll back increase with immediate effect and pass on the benefit of low oil prices directly to the citizens of this country.
In an official statement, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) had said that no government should levy and impose such unacceptable strain on its people.

Before the nation entered the lockdown, the average price of petrol and diesel in Delhi was Rs 69.60 per litre and Rs 62.30 per litre respectively.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.