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A Muslim religious leader on Wednesday warned the people of Gujarat to beware a "foreign conspiracy" to divide them on communal lines and said the riots had affected not just one community "but the whole country".
Addressing a press conference, Mohammed Fazlur Raheem Mujaddedi of the Jamiatul Hidaya contended that "the foreigner has sown seeds of discord among Hindus and Muslims and followed the policy of divide and rule". India, he said, "stands out as a bunch of flowers comprising Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians adorning our beautiful country".
"Let us realise it very clearly that killing someone or putting his house or business on fire or looting property directly hits our economy," Mujaddedi said. "I earnestly appeal to everyone, especially Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat, to put an end to the barbarism and live like two brothers."
Later, answering questions, Mujaddedi refused to be drawn into the demand for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's resignation. "This is a political issue and we are not concerned with it," he said.
Claiming that the Gujarat riots had cost the country Rs 40,000 crore, he said the people of the state had lost their confidence, which was why they had not restarted their businesses. Although the situation "is better than before", he said Muslim students in the state had not appeared for their high-school examinations because of a feeling of insecurity. He hoped that with the Gujarat high court seized of the matter, it would give appropriate directions to the state government so that the students could appear for their exams.
"As a Muslim organisation," he said, "we would like to condemn the Godhra incident." But he also said the relief measures taken by the state government were inadequate and "not in the right direction".
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