Man who wrote PM 150 times is finally heard, after he disrupts function

Baig disrupted the inauguration function of the National Wakf Development Corporation when he screamed an appeal to the prime minister that instead of announcing new schemes for minorities, he should ensure implementation of the 15-point programme that was instituted in 2006-07 and deals with a wide range of issued from ICDS services to rehabilitation of communal riot victims.

Security personnel at the Vigyan Bhavan auditorium cupped his mouth to prevent him from speaking, much to the chagrin of Muslims leaders and intellectuals present.  

As Baig struggled to make himself heard, minister of state for minority affairs went on to read out his vote of thanks after an apologetic shrug to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Gandhi beckoned a security officer and reportedly asked to meet Baig personally.

“I come from northeast Delhi, which is one of the designated minority concentration districts. For the last three years, Rs 23 crore was annually earmarked for implementation of the PM’s 15-point programme, but there was no work on the ground. I filed an RTI and was told that there has been no work whatsoever. I have been asking the prime minister for time now for many months.

Exasperated, I started an exercise of writing to him every day for 150 consecutive days, but his office never deigned to reply. Today, his security guys came and told me that he will meet me in the next one or two days,” Baig, who described himself as a doctor and activist, said.

Baig said his local MLA Mateen Ahmed, who is a Muslim  and one of eight Congress MLAs in the Delhi Assembly, has not done any work, nor has Member of Parliament J P Agarwal.

In their speeches, both Singh and Gandhi talked about the work that the UPA had done for the welfare of Muslims, the latest being the corporation – a new public sector enterprise under the minority ministry tasked with the development of approximately 6 lakh crore Wakf land worth Rs 1.2 lakh crore.

“We do not approve of the way he was treated by security personnel today. Both the prime minister and the UPA chairperson were categorical that no action should be taken against him for his conduct. But the issues he has raised are genuine. We have not received utilisation certificates from Delhi government for two years. I had written to Dikshit in the past and now to Kejriwal about this ,” Rehman said.

BJP was quick to respond to the incident. “The disruption at the Prime Minister’s function is the result of the natural expression of people’s anger coming out against the UPA for its policies,” BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said.