INDORE, 5 April 2003 — The ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) yesterday said it “deplored” the US-led strikes on Iraq and called for an immediate end to the war.
“The national executive of the BJP deplores the unjustified military action resorted to by the United States, Britain and their allies against Iraq,” a resolution passed by 166 party delegates here said.
“The national executive resolves that war be immediately brought to an end (and) the parties concerned seek a peaceful, political solution within the framework of the United Nations.” It added the sovereignty of Iraq must be preserved and the rights of the people of Iraq to choose their political future be respected. The national executive, the party’s highest policymaking body, is meeting in Indore to discuss domestic political challenges and the Iraq situation.
The meeting, chaired by BJP President M. Venkaiah Naidu, was attended by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha and other party leaders.
The resolution, moved by party spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, a Muslim, was passed unanimously, party General Secretary Pramod Mahajan said. Vajpayee and Advani did not speak on the subject.
Vajpayee has drawn flak from the opposition for refusing to directly condemn the US-led strike on Iraq and it has repeatedly demanded a parliamentary resolution on the issue, which the government has refused to allow.
Vajpayee has said the action is unjustified, but has refrained from outright condemnation. “I don’t see any contradiction (between the government and the party) on this,” Mahajan said. “There is always a difference between the government line and the party line. The government is more diplomatic, we are more candid.”
Tens of Thousands
Protest Iraq War
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Muslims yesterday held special prayer meetings and protests against the US-led war in Iraq.
In the capital New Delhi, witnesses said up to 80,000 anti-war protesters marched through the streets shouting slogans against US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Organizers said Muslims had come to the capital from other states to make their feelings known. The demonstrators gathered at the city’s main mosque, the Jama Masjid, and tried to march to the American Center but police stopped them a few kilometers (miles) away. There was no violence but the protest caused traffic jams for several hours.
In Calcutta more than 20,000 Muslims gathered to pray for those killed in the military action, to condemn the war and call for a boycott of American and British products.
Noorur Rahaman Barkati, chief imam of Tipu Sultan Mosque, who led the prayers, said: “This special Friday prayer was to condemn the US-led strike on Iraq which has so far claimed hundreds of innocent lives, including many children and women. We pray for these people who had to give their lives though they have no role in the war between the two countries.”
He said they had initially planned a protest but did not want any violence. “Muslims in this state wanted to show their solidarity against the US-led attack on Iraq, which is nothing but an act of aggression,” he said, adding they were boycotting American goods.
In Kashmir, police fired teargas to disperse nearly 2,000 anti-war demonstrators in Srinagar. The protesters shouted anti-US and pro-Iraq slogans and some burnt effigies of Bush.
In Ahmedabad, about 3,000 Muslims gathered at the main mosque to pray for Iraqi civilians. “We have asked our Muslims brothers to gather here to sympathize and support our peaceful protest against the Iraq war,” said Mufti Shabbier Ahmad from the Gujarat Chand Committee, a Muslim organization.
“Everyone present here wants the United Nations to intervene for a cease-fire in Iraq,” he said.
