By Abdul Bari Masoud
New Delhi: Maulana Mahmood Madani, general secretary, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind(M) on Monday charged the Hindi daily Dainik Jagran’ with distorting a and falsely presenting his statement on the Babri masjid. The paper made it the lead story with a screaming headline “Maulana Madani does not consider disputed structure Babri masjid as a mosque.” He also sent a strongly-worded the rejoinder to the newspaper which it did not publish it. Jamiat is considering legal action against the newspaper known for its RSS leanings and communal attitude.
At a programme organized by the BBC Gujarati in Ahmadabad on Saturday March 23, Madani was asked by the interviewer, kiya aap babri masjid ko masjid mantey? (Did he consider Babri masjid as a mosque?) He replied with firmly and categorically that it was a mosque. “Haan, main spashat rup se use masjid manta hoan,”
However, Jagaran carried the totally opposite and distorted news story on front page on March 24 as its banner headline read: “Jamiat Mahasachvi bole-Ayodhya kaa vivadit dhancha masjid nahi manta” (Madani does not consider disputed structure Babri masjid as a mosque).
When his attention was drawn towards the Jagran story, Maulana Madani has expressed his utter surprise as he did not expect the paper would stoop to such a low. He sent a strong rebuttal to the editor of Jagaran but it did not carry. The rejoinder is attached with the story. The programme’s recording is available on Youtube that nailed the falsification of Jagran’s reporter. Jamiat office said it is considering legal action against the paper which has multiple editions with huge circulations. Jamiat also will make the complaint against the paper to the Press Council of India as it blatantly violated the ethics of journalism.