Crackdown on SIMI continues

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 29. In the continuing nationwide crackdown on the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), 122 activists were arrested on the second day today, taking the total number of arrests to 362.

Highly-placed sources in the Home Ministry said the maximum number of arrests took place in the non-BJP ruled State of Maharashtra, which topped the chart with 103. Forty-five persons were arrested in West Bengal and Rajasthan. In Kerala, 31 activists were arrested, while in Tamil Nadu, the number was 20. The number of arrests in Madhya Pradesh was 24. No one was arrested in Bihar. And, in the BJP-ruled States of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, there were 92 and eight arrests.

Sources said the activities of SIMI had been under ``close watch'' for the past one year and the first move was made in October last when the Union Cabinet was informed about SIMI being on the watch-list. The ban being imposed in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist strikes in the U.S. was ``purely coincidental.'' The entire material and evidence against the organisation would be placed before a tribunal, comprising a sitting judge of a High Court, to determine the validity of the ban.

The Home Ministry's notification, declaring SIMI as an ``unlawful association'', said the anti-national and militant postures of SIMI were clearly manifest in the speeches of its leaders, who glorified pan-Islamic fundamentalism, used derogatory language for deities of other religions and exhorted the Muslims for ``jehad.''

`Ban has no communal overtones'

Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. Rajnath Singh, and three of his Ministers, called on the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, and apprised him of the situation in the State, particularly Lucknow, which witnessed riots following the ban. Later, he told correspondents that the ban on SIMI did not mean that a particular community was being targetted.

Another Minister, Mr. Lalji Tandon, blamed the Samajwadi Party for the violence and charged that its activists had instigated the attacks against police in Lucknow. He claimed that barring the incident, there was neither sympathy nor support for SIMI. Even Congress-ruled States like Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh had endorsed the decision to ban activities of SIMI.

On the suggestion of the Congress Chief Ministers to impose a similar ban on the Bajrang Dal, Mr. Tandon said there was no comparison between SIMI and the Bajrang Dal. SIMI had links with international terrorist organisations and if not checked, the situation could become worse, he alleged.

Denying that the Centre had taken the decision with an eye on the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Mr. Tandon said national interest was the only consideration.

The delegation, which also included the State Finance Minister, Mr. Harish Chander Srivastava, and Mr. Hukum Singh, sought financial assistance to implement various development programmes in the State, held up due to the non-release of Central funds. It asked the Centre to release Rs. 1800 crores for various schemes and clear the foodgrains stock so that space could be created before arrivals started in October. The Union Food and Civil Supplies Minister, Mr. Shanta Kumar, is scheduled to visit Lucknow on October 4, to attend to the problem.

The Union Finance Minister, Mr. Yashwant Sinha, and Mr. Shanta Kumar were present during the meeting.

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