By Muslim Mirror Network

New Jersey (US) – The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), a US-based advocacy group dedicated to human rights, social justice, and pluralism, has welcomed the joint statement from US Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker from New Jersey that has unequivocally condemned a hate parade held by Hindu supremacists on August 14, 2022, in the state.

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The criticism from Senators Menendez and Booker has come after IAMC, Council on American-Islamic Relations-New Jersey (CAIR-NJ), and American Muslims for Democracy (AMD) met with the two senators’ offices on Friday and urged them to publicly condemn the display of a bulldozer at the August 14 parade.

“This week, our offices met with leaders and members of New Jersey’s South Asian community who were angered and deeply hurt by the inclusion of a bulldozer in the India Day Parade in Edison last month,” the joint statement from US Senators Menendez and Booker released on Friday said. “The bulldozer has come to be a symbol of intimidation against Muslims and other religious minorities in India, and its inclusion in this event was wrong.” said a press statement issued by AIMC.

In their statement, the US senators further said that New Jersey was, “proudly home to some of the most diverse communities in the nation, including one of the largest South Asian communities, and all ethnic and religious groups have a right to live without intimidation or fear.” it added.

“We met officials of Senators Menendez and Booker and informed them that Hindu supremacist governments in India were deploying the bulldozer to terrorize the Muslim community by demolishing their homes, businesses, and mosques out of vendetta and sheer Islamophobia. We are happy that Senators Menendez and Booker have recognized the hate in that parade.” Minhaj Khan, an IAMC leader said in the statement. “

The parade was organized by IBA and prominently featured Sambit Patra, a national spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who is known to spew anti-Muslim hatred on daily prime-time shows for India’s ruling Hindu supremacist, as the parade’s grand marshall. In addition, leaders of the Overseas Friends of the BJP (OFBJP), registered as a foreign agents, were also present at the parade, confirming the IBA’s connections with India’s Hindu supremacists.

The parade, called to mark India’s Independence Day, featured a bulldozer with pictures of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, whose government has criminally and illegally used the bulldozer to demolish mosques,  businesses, and homes of Muslims human rights defenders and protesters who have dared to criticize and challenge his anti-democratic policies.

The Uttar Pradesh government – as well as governments in Assam and Madhya Pradesh states, which, too, are ruled by Modi’s and Adityanath’s BJP – have used bulldozers to demolish Muslim-owned properties without following due process or securing court orders, or even serving a notice on the owners of the properties.

Multiple officials and organizations have already condemned the bulldozer parade. They include US Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ); New Jersey Assemblyman Raj Mukherji (Chair, Joint Asian Pacific American Caucus); New Jersey Sen. Vin Gopal (Vice Chair, Joint Asian Pacific American Caucus); New Jersey Assemblywomen Shama Haider, Sadaf Jaffer and Ellen Park; Edison Mayor Sam Joshi; Woodbridge Mayor John McMorcac; Edison Council President Joseph Coyle; Edison Council Vice-President Joyce Ship-Freeman; Edison Councilwoman Margot Harris; Edison Councilmen John Poyner, Richard Brescher and Nishith Patel; the National Alliance for the Advancement of the Colored People (NAACP); Black Lives Matter; American Muslims for Democracy; Hindus for Human Rights; Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR); and Indian American Muslim Council.

The IAMC has urged the US Department of Justice to investigate IBA and OFBJP for their connections with India’s Hindu supremacists and involvement in hate speech and crimes in the US.