Delegation meets Prez over Orissa atrocities

MUMBAI: A delegation, led by director Mahesh Bhatt and general secretary of All India Christian Council Dr Abraham Mathai, met President Pratibha Patil on Monday, demanding that the Centre must implement the provisions of Article 355 to force the Orissa administration to protect Christians.
The delegation included Jamiat e-Ulema-e-Hind president Maulana Mahmood Madani, National Integration Council member Dr John Dayal, Orissa archbishop Raphael Cheenath, Delhi archbishop Vincent Concessao, Jamiat leader Md Faruqi, Christian Council regional secretary Rev Madhu Chandra, Delhi Catholic Archdiocese Federation president Adv Jenis Francis and Catholic Social Forum secretary-general Joseph Dias.
After the meeting, Patil said she would look into the demands and added that the Orissa government has already briefed her on the steps it has taken.
Bhatt told Patil that the state government was in a state of coma and its police force did not know how to handle violence, while the Sangh Parivar went on the rampage. "The governments hesitate to intervene in such incidents, apprehending trouble,'' Bhatt said. ���It is the profit motive that makes governments act with urgency, not moral outrage or humanitarian concern. The inadequate response from the Centre and the state to meet the manmade tragedy in Orissa has made the situation worse.���
Maulana Madani said it was a matter of security for the minority communities. Mathai even demanded that organisations like the VHP and Bajrang Dal be banned on the lines of SIMI as they have proved, beyond doubts, that they spread [email protected]