Tamil Nadu BJP chief Annamalai has criticized Naam Tamilar Katchi leader Seeman for hailing SA Basha, the convicted mastermind behind the 1998 Coimbatore serial bombings, as a “father” figure following his death on 16 December 2024. Basha, who was the founder of the extremist group Al-Umma, was responsible for masterminding the bombings that killed 58 people and left 231 others injured.
The reporters asked Tamil Nadu BJP chief Annamalai about Naam Tamilar Katchi leader Seeman calling SA Basha his ‘father,’ and about Trichy SP Varun Kumar’s recent statement at an All India IPS conference, where he suggested that the party was leaning towards separatism and should be monitored.
In response, Annamalai said in Coimbatore, “Yesterday, Seeman went to attend the funeral of Basha, the founder and leader of ‘Al-Umma,’ who was the mastermind behind the February 1998 Coimbatore bomb blasts. After being released on bail, he has now passed away. So, does this make Naam Tamilar an anti-national party? No. Should the Naam Tamilar party be banned? No. What I’m saying is that political parties have a responsibility. All the 58 people who died in the blasts also had fathers right? Seeman calls Basha his ‘father,’ the dead 58 children have parents right, including a Muslim child who died in the attack had a father. If Basha is a father figure, then the 58 victims are also fathers, and the 200 others severely injured are also fathers. Seeman should consider this as well. I don’t want to use harsh words here, but they should think carefully about when and where to do politics. Till today, the scars of 1998 remain unhealed, the sorrow from the attacks lingers in people’s hearts, and everyone knows, that is why the region went backwards.”
What Did NTK Chief Seeman Say?
On 17 December 2024, NTK party chief Seeman took to his official X account to describe the leader of the extremist group Al-Ummah SA Basha, as a “father figure”, expressing deep hurt over the news. In a mere attempt in minority appeasement, stating, “The death of father Basha is a great tragedy! Has the DMK government thought that the death of Muslim prisoners is their freedom? @CMOTamilnadu @mkstalin. I was deeply shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the death of father, Basha, who had been imprisoned for more than a quarter of a century in prison. I express my condolences to the family, relatives, and Muslim relatives who are grieving the loss of father and share in his grief.”
“The powerless situation of not being able to rescue my father despite knowing that injustice was being done gives me great mental pain and guilt. The fact that father Basha, who was striving to obtain the great right of freedom, was completely separated from us and achieved freedom is a great tragedy that cannot be described in words. Being with him in Coimbatore jail and talking to him when he was released from prison are etched in my heart.”
“He who makes a promise and then looks for excuses not to fulfill it is a cruel person,” says the venerable great prophet, Mohammed. The DMK, which promised to release the Muslim prisoners, formed the Adinathan Committee upon coming to power and withdrew, considering its duty to be over, is a terrible act of deceit that deceived the Muslim relatives who had trusted it. While prisoners Abuthakeer and Abdul Hakeem died during the DMK regime without enjoying their freedom, it is a great tragedy that father Basha has also died now following them. It is a great tragedy that his longing and desire, which he wanted to be freed at least in his last days and live in peace with his family, went unfulfilled until the end.”
“Isn’t it treasonous that the DMK, which came to power by winning the votes of all Muslim people, is delaying their long-standing demand for the release of Muslim prisoners without making any progress, and is obstructing the efforts of the prisoners who want to be released by conducting legal battles in the Supreme Court? Has the DMK government decided to release Muslim prisoners only through death? How much longer will you, gentlemen, get away with citing the Governor as an excuse? Can you shirk your responsibility and duty and play cheap politics on the release of Muslim prisoners? Shame!”
“It is an unacceptable tyranny to play political games and seek political gain by flouting the promise made to release the Islamic prisoners. Let the death of father Basha be the last. No prisoner should ever die without being released. Let the Islamic prisoners who have spent their entire lives behind bars spend their remaining time with their families and relatives. Our final tribute to father basha will be continuing the work to ensure the speedy release of Islamic prisoners. My tearful salutation to father Basha!”
அப்பா பாட்சாவின் மரணம் கொடுந்துயரம்! இசுலாமிய சிறைவாசிகளின் மரணம்தான் அவர்களுக்கான விடுதலையென நினைத்துவிட்டதா திமுக அரசு?@CMOTamilnadu @mkstalin
கால் நூற்றாண்டுகளுக்கு மேலாகச் சிறைக்கொட்டடியில் வாடிய சிறைவாசி அப்பா பாட்சா அவர்களது மரணச்செய்தியறிந்து பெரும் அதிர்ச்சியும்,… pic.twitter.com/6pcJ12y4at
— செந்தமிழன் சீமான் (@Seeman4TN) December 17, 2024
Who Is SA Basha?
S.A. Basha, the mastermind behind the 1998 Coimbatore serial bomb blasts, who founded the extremist organization Al-Umma, was responsible for planning the devastating blasts that killed 58 people and injured 231 others.
The Coimbatore serial bomb blasts of 1998 (DMK was in power in then) were a grievous incident in which 58 people were killed and over 200 individuals sustained serious injuries. This devastating series of 12 bomb attacks unfolded across 11 different locations within a 12-kilometer radius. Many of the survivors continue to grapple with the long-lasting effects of the shrapnel and other injuries caused by the devastating explosions.
The chief orchestrator behind these tragic events was identified as S. A. Basha, the founder of Al Ummah, an Islamic fundamentalist group. Investigations revealed that these bombings were part of a larger conspiracy with the sinister aim of targeting L.K. Advani, the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, during his election meeting scheduled for 4 p.m. on that ill-fated day. Fortunately, Advani’s flight was delayed, and he narrowly escaped the horrors of that day.
It is noteworthy to mention that one of the suspects, Mohammed Dhalka, who was detained in connection to the 2022 Coimbatore car blast terror incident is the nephew of SA Basha. Nawab Khan, Basha’s brother, was also sentenced to one-life term and 27 years of rigorous imprisonment in the 1998 bomb blast case.
The president of the banned fundamentalist outfit Al-Umma, SA Basha, openly threatened to kill the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi if he visited Coimbatore in July 2003. This threat was made by Basha and eight others while speaking to journalists in the Coimbatore court premises after their conviction and life imprisonment in a case related to the murder of a Hindu Munnani leader. It is noteworthy that Al-Umma and its leader were allowed to operate openly by the DMK Government until the Coimbatore blasts on 14 February 1998.
Magazines like Outlook and Frontline also acknowledged the role of the Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TNMMK) in these blasts. In March 1998, Frontline reported, “Within hours of the blasts, the Tamil Nadu Government banned Al-Umma and the Jihad Committee. Al-Umma founder-president S.A. Basha and 12 other members of the organization were arrested in Chennai; explosive materials and weapons were seized from his house in Triplicane, Chennai.”
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