Mumbai: Dolphy D’Souza, Spokesperson, Save Our Land (Soul) Team, Mumbai, Former President – The Bombay Catholic Sabha and former National Vice President- All India Catholic Union, has issued a press release expressing shock that the members of the National Minorities Commission [NCM] that arrived in Mumbai, today, has kept their visit under wraps, as this will not serve the purpose of the organization or the citizens for which it is constituted. The Members of the NCM are housed at the Sahyadri Guest and hardly anyone knows about their visit.
The Save our Land team has demanded an explanation from NCM as to why this visit was not widely publicized, so that all aggrieved Minorities could attend and air their grievances.
“We were shocked to hear that the members of the NCM are in Mumbai for two days beginning today at Sahyadri Guest House. They are supposed to meet members of the Minorities to understand their problems. Unfortunately no one knows that they are here. Whom are they going to meet? Is it a secret closed door meeting for a select few”, the press release demanded to know
On checking further with the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission office in Mumbai , they confirmed that the Chairman and members of the NCM are in Mumbai for two days and they have received the programme schedule which they refused to share with us. State Minorties Commission Office person told us that this meeting was organised by the Minorities Welfare Department of Government of Maharashtra and they had only been informed. Sad and unfortunate. When probed why the State Minorities Commission had not published this wider , she said they had role to play in this meeting, the press release added.
The press release pointed out that the National Minorities Commission [NCM ] website proudly says ” An organisation to safeguard the Constitutional and Legal Rights of the Minorities” , however their track record has been pathetic in the current attacks on Christian Minorities all over the Country,.
The organization laments, “NCM is found missing in action. Normally the NCM members do site visits to the spots of violence. But it appears they are sitting in the airconditioned cabins of the NCM in Delhi. They are supposed to be at the ground level when incidents of violence and intimidation happens to the Minorities”.
NCM’s successes!
According to the organization, on the NCM website, there is a new icon for “Successes”, under which is listed a few successes. These include an attack on the Pastor and the Church Members of the Victory Mission International Church, Kottayam , Kerala and a response from the Police in Kerala dated 05/06/2011. And two more succcess stories in 2010 and 2012, but nothing whatsoever about what has happend in the last 8 months especially against the Christian minorities.
The organization, Save our land, has not only demanded an explanation for the under publicized visit, but also that the NCM extend its stay and meet representatives from the aggrieved minorities.
