2250 [2200] Hrs GMT
London
Monday
29 March 2010
Editor © Muhammad Haque
KHOODEELAAR! Bringing contextually diagnostic report of the 'entry' into the parliamentary fray in Tower Hamlets of an 'independent' candidate for Poplar and Lime House. Kabir Mahmud has been already asked to explain whether he is a stooge of one or the other of the 'contending factions' in the constituency. Khoodeelaar! will run this diagnostic report over the next days.
We start with the basics as seen at a 'press conference' in the Brick Lane area that began almost three hours behind schedule.
And then the 'candidate' was swiftly confronted by a challenge to show that he was not a stooge! In a borough that has become almost synonymous with 'Muslim fundamentalist-linked ethnicity-linked British state-patronised, state-watched most spied on and most CCTV-ed patch, conurbation and area in all of Western Europe', the entry into the parliamentary electoral ‘fray’ of a "state registered occupational therapist" with an MBA from the former 'North East London Polytechnic' [now marketed as the 'University of East London'] promises on first signals to be a very promising one indeed.
Promise as defined to convey all the key implications. And satire!
He is an ‘independent candidate’ who claims to be truly independent of all the political parities. But his claim was challenged during the question and answer session that followed his introductory presentation.
Billed to start at 1800 Hrs UK time [that is 1700 GMT on Monday 29 March 2010] the event, a ‘press conference’ did not start until almost three hours later.
The introductory was a verbal delivery following a Bangla-scripted presentation read by ‘the candidate’. It was not clear whether that script was actually written while the early arrivals were kept waiting with promises of the event ‘starting anytime soon’. In the presentation, the ‘candidate’ performed as a reasonable follower of the script. But he came to life, rhetorically speaking of course, only when he was able to veer off the written script and talk about the state of health care for Bangladeshis in Tower Hamlets. He said that he had been working in the NHS for a considerable number of years, having qualified as a skilled professional. He then referred to the PCT, the Primary Health care Trust and also claimed that he was one of a small number of individual who had set up a Bangladeshi-friendly users-cum-workers organisation within the local NHS. He even mentioned in particular quite a few meetings that he had been party to which were attended by the ‘Chief Executive’ of the Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trust [Fact note: the current chef executive at the time of writing at 2200 GMT 29 March 2010 is Alwen Williams, who has already bagged an honour’ for her ‘achievements’].
The ‘candidate’ also stated his philosophy in life to include ‘valuing people’. Earlier he had stated in some detail the poor state of schooling that ‘our children’ are getting in Tower Hamlets. He did not name any councillor as such but said that he was frustrated by the record of so many councillors who were not doing right by the community that had been electing them. When the ‘candidate’ finished, he was hit with a stream of monotones, put to him by a single member of ‘the Bengali press’ present.
The question [paraphrased here] was: what evidence did the candidate have to claim that the western media was attacking all Muslims. The question was repeated a few times as was the answer that clearly did not satisfy the questioner.
The exchange ended inconclusively with AADHIKARonline wondering if the ‘candidate’ could say what he would do to end the culture of servility to the Council and to the local institutions that had developed via the ‘Bangla’ language titles appearing in the local area in the East End of London [and in and around Brick Lane in particular] praising underachievement and overall education and suppressing the abysmal records of the local schools.
Most specifically, AADHIKARonline wanted to know what the ‘candidate’ would do, as “an aspiring MP,” to bring an end to the culture that encouraged academic underachievement by such a large number of boys and girls leaving local schools and other institutions of ‘education’ in Tower Hamlets at the end of the compulsory schooling age. [A full transcript of the session will appear in later editions of AADHIKARonline in the next 24 hours - between 2200 GMT 29 March 2009 and 2100 GMT 30 March 2010].
Another issue that was raised with the “candidate” was the suspicion that he was a stooge candidate, brought in to carry out a sabotage assignment by serving as a decoy to strategically misdirect voters in order to facilitate the election of one of the two contenders vying for the so-called Muslim vote in Poplar and Lime house: George Galloway and Jim Fitzpatrick. [fact note: the CURRENT MP for the said constituency is Jim Fitzpatrick].
The “candidate” denied that he was attached to George Galloway’s ‘Respect’ group or that he was a stooge of the ‘Islamic Forum Europe’. He also denied that he was linked with the Islamic Forum Europe.
[To be continued]