Indian Muslim News – INDIA ELECTIONS 2009

TV talk show tunes in to Indian election drama

Charges, counter-charges and baseless allegations marked the ‘Gulf Samvadham’ talk show recording on coming Indian parliamentary polls. Tempers ran high at the two-hour show hosted by the Malayalam television channel Kairali at the Indian Cultural Centre (ICC).

K K Usman speaks at the Kairali debate as moderator E M Ashraf looks on

Some members of the audience came close to blows more than once, but mayhem was averted after the timely intervention of senior members of the community. The event demonstrated that a number of participants had absolutely no knowledge of Indian politics and were more interested in rhetoric to catch the attention of the TV camera.

However, there were some exceptions. Indian Cultural and Arts Society (Incas) president K K Usman made a strong defence of Indian National Congress’ decision to field former UN deputy under secretary general Shashi Tharoor as the party candidate from Thiruvananthapuram.

“Tharoor has demonstrated his abilities at various levels and forums at the world level and has made his stand clear on a number of issues concerning the non-resident Indians,” Usman said.

He lambasted some of those who questioned the credentials of the former UN official to stand as Congress candidate.

Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC) general secretary S A M Basheer said the parent organisation of the KMCC had made its position clear on not only those issues concerning the Muslims in India, but also expressed solidarity with the victims of Israeli aggression in Palestinian territories.

Indian Muslim Cultural Centre (IMCC) spokesperson Usman Parakkadavu opined that the future of India is in the hands of the Third Front, which he predicted would play a crucial part after the elections.

Journalist Ashraf Thoneery and representatives of forums including as Sanskriti, Indian Islamic Association (IIA) and People’s Cultural Forum also participated. Kairali’s regional bureau chief E M Ashraf was the moderator.
(Courtesy: Gulf Times)