News Tamil Nadu

Islamist fringe outfit announces protest demanding release of convicted terrorist, but Cartoonist Varma gets arrested

October 15, 2020
The Commune

The Indian National League Party (INLP), an Islamist fringe party has announced that it will be carrying out a protest rally towards the Coimbatore Central Prison demanding the release of Kovai Basha, the man responsible for the 1998 Coimbatore bombings that killed around 58 people.

Taking to Twitter, TADA J Rahim, leader of the party had announced on October 14 that a protest rally towards the Coimbatore Prison is to take place on October 16. However, on October 15, he announced that it has been postponed to October 23.

Responding to this tweet, Cartoonist Varma on October 14 tweeted in Tamil in which he questioned whether the Muslim Jamats in the state has ever condemned or banished those professing terrorism in the name of religion.

“They say that Islam does not approve of killing innocents in the name of religion and such a terrorist is not a Muslim at all. But has any Jamat ever banished such terrorists? They won’t. Doesn’t this mean that the group as a whole endorses terrorism?” Cartoonist Varma wrote.

The Indu Makkal Katchi has reported that the Tamil Nadu police have now arrested Cartoonist Varma for this tweet while no action has been taken on the Muslim fringe party and its leader TADA J Rahim who has endorsed a terrorist. However, when The Commune reached out to the Chennai Police Commissioner office, they denied Cartoonist Varma being arrested.

Indu Makkal Katchi (IMK) leader Arjun Sampath has called Cartoonist Varma’s arrest an attack on free speech and democracy.  He said that the police have succumbed to minority appeasement adding that while the police sat on the complaints lodged by Hindus for slandering their faith, they have arrested Cartoonist Varma once again for responding to a tweet by a terrorist sympathizer who had called for the release of a terrorist.

“While no action has been taken on people like Veeramani of Dravida Kazhagam, evangelists Ezra Sargunam, Mohan C Lazarus, and terrorists like TADA J Rahim who denigrate Hindu faith and speak against Indian sovereignty, the police have gone out of their way to arrest Cartoonist Varma in the wee hours of October 15”, Arjun Sampath said.

He further added “Muslims in Tamil Nadu have the freedom to put up posters urging the release of terrorist Basha, the Islamist fanatic who caused the brutal bombing in Coimbatore that left many innocents dead and paralyzed. From Coimbatore Central Prison to Chennai’s Puzhal Jail, Islamists have the ‘freedom’ to attack police officials and even justify it. They even have the ‘freedom’ to threaten police officers by releasing their photos but the police won’t lift a finger in those cases. They will only target and try to silence Varma for raising voice against Islamic terrorists.”

“The Indu Makkal Katchi severely condemns the undemocratic actions of the Tamil Nadu police and demands the immediate release of Cartoonist Varma.”, Arjun Sampath said to The Commune.

SA Basha or Kovai Basha, the founder of Islamic terrorist organization Al-Ummah (Followers of the Prophet) and the main conspirator behind the 1998 Coimbatore bombings was found guilty for the terror act. It was part of a larger conspiracy to target BJP leader LK Advani on the same day when he was to address an election rally.

SA Basha was awarded the life sentence and his co-conspirator Mohammad Ansari was awarded twin life sentence.

In November 2009, the DMK government under M. Karunanidhi released 9 Al-Ummah terrorists 16 months short of their full sentence for their ‘good conduct’ on the occasion of 100th birth anniversary of C.N. Annadurai.

Now the Islamist fringe party is demanding the release of Kovai Basha.