College criticises Modi government over photo ad
By IANSSaturday, June 12, 2010
LUCKNOW - A college in Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh district Saturday criticized the Gujarat government for using without persmission a photograph of its girl students in newspaper advertisements projecting Narendra Modi’s pro-Muslim face.
The college is contemplating legal action against the Gujarat officials and the advertising agency.
“It’s surprising and shocking… The advertisements published in Patna newspapers that project Modi as the emancipator of Gujrat Muslims has a photograph of our college students,” Shibli National Degree College principal Iftekhar Ahmad told reporters.
“We will definitely hold talks with the guardians and parents of the girl students. On the basis of their reactions, we may explore possible legal options against the erring officials,” he added.
According to the college, the photograph of the girl students working in a computer lab was shot in November 2008. Later, it was given to a web portal for academic projects, Ahmad said.
The advertisements, hailing Modi, showcase a photograph of the burqa-clad girls working on computers.
The advertisements were published ahead of Modi’s arrival in Patna, where the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) two-day meet began Saturday.
“All of us, particularly the minority community, would have appreciated the advertisement if it had really focused on achievements of Muslims in Gujarat,” Ahmad said on telephone from Azamgarh, some 300 km from here.
