The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the State Congress on Wednesday raised questions on the conduct of the Union Home Ministry and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval while handling the Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi.
State Home Minister and NCP leader Anil Deshmukh released a statement raising eight queries, seeking details of the meeting between Mr. Doval and Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad.
The statement said, “The planned 50,000+ Tablighi congregation at Vasai … would have been dangerous given the coronavirus pandemic. Maharashtra’s Home Department averted a major disaster well in time by not giving permission to organise the gathering.”
It sought to know, “How then did the Union Home Ministry give permission to have such a large congregation at the Tablighi Markaz? The Nizamuddin Markaz is located bang next to the Nizamuddin police station. And yet they remained clueless about the planned congregation? Aren’t the Home Ministry and the BJP government at the Centre responsible for this lapse?”
It said the congregation led to the infection spreading across States. “Isn’t the Home Ministry directly responsible for endangering the safety of people? Why did Home Minister Amit Shah dispatch the [NSA] to the Tablighi Markaz at 2 a.m.? Is this the NSA’s responsibility or the Delhi Police Commissioner’s?” it asked.
Demanding to know the details of the meeting between Mr. Doval and Maulana Saad, Mr. Deshmukh said neither the NSA nor the Delhi Police chief has released even a perfunctory statement on this issue. “What did [Mr. Doval] say to Maulana Saad in that secret meeting that the latter vanished the next day? Is the Home Ministry or Doval even aware of [Maulana] Saad’s whereabouts?” it asked.
Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said Mr. Deshmukh’s statement points towards the sloppy handling of the event by the Delhi Police. “They could have easily cancelled the permission. They had all the information about foreign nationals attending the programme. Was this carelessness intentional? The manner in which the BJP is playing the Hindu-Muslim card on coronavirus, this suspicion becomes deeper,” he said.