NEW YORK: As New Yorkers prepared for a relaxed Sunday in Central Park, a group of young activists from New Jersey and New York staged a colorful demonstration near the office of the Indian Consulate-General in New York.
The demonstrators were holding banners and posters in support of the Indian Government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other leaders of India’s Congress Party. The Congress leaders led by Juned Qazi and supported by Atma Singh, Zinda Singh and Karanjit Dhaliwal gathered on the side walk where Fifth Avenue and 64th Street merged, a spot half a block away from the Indian Consulate office.
Displaying banners of Congress party and its secular messages they chanted slogans in favor of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Their fellow protestors were holding Indian flags.
The demonstrators began assembling at the sidewalk around noon when New Yorkers were heading towards the Central Part for a lazy Sunday. Many stopped to take snaps of Indian activists holding placards. Not far from the pro-Congress protestors stood a group of anti-Congress demonstrators who were shouting slogans against the Congress Government of India, which they claimed, was supporting radical Islam and promoting Jihad in India.
The anti-Congress protesters were led by pro-Hindu activist Narayan Kataria, who blamed India’s ruling Congress party for supporting Islamist infiltrators in North East India. In response, the Congress supporters blamed Kartaria for spoiling the name of India in USA.
“These people have no right to protest against Congress because they divide the country on religious lines”, said Atma Singh. “India’s leadership is secular and it is keeping the country united.”
The young activists came from different parts of New York and New Jersey. Challenging the contention of anti-Congress demonstrations they put the blame of violence in India on pro-Hindu parties and Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
Chanting slogans like ‘Attack VHP and RSS’, murderers of peace and Gandhi, the young activists said that these parties were dividing the country on religious grounds.
Qazi, a well known supporter of Digvijay Singh, the former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and a senior Congress leader, shouted slogans in favor of secular and pluralistic India. He claimed that Congress party led by Sonia Gandhi was the true secular party that has brought prosperity in India.
“Congress symbolized peace and progress and helped to keep India united. On the other hand a number of opposition parties led by pro-Hindu groups such as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, were engaged in dividing the nation and destroying it.”
Juned Qazi said that Congress was a true secular party in India which ruled for most of the 66 years. It led the country towards prosperity and progress. “It is the duty of every Indian to support Congress which represents secular forces and unity in India”, said Qazi.
According to Qazi the demonstration gathered strength with the help of enthusiastic support and slogan shouting of fellow activists owing allegiance to Congress, such as, Pankaj Mathur, Rumpi Bindra, Paul Singh, Rahul Dev Singh, Sonia Keer Sodhi, Shaheen Khan, Atul Mathur, Taiyab Poonawala, Jasmitter Singh and Saeed Patel.
India Post News Service
