Abdul Nazer Mahdani

PDP and its political recognition

At a young age, Mahdani(Maudany) began delivering sermons at a local mosque in the Kollam district. His oratorical skills were well received, and he soon built up a following. He subsequently formed the Islamic Seva Sangh and later launched the PDP.Communist Party of India (Marxist) forged alliance with PDP at various elections in Kerala state. The PDP also won a few seats in the council elections.

Chengara Solidarity March

Abdul Nasser Mahdani delivered a speech at Chengara Adivasi Protest in support of the struggle in May 2008. He declared the objective of Muslim-Dalit-Adivasi Unity under the banner of "Power to Avarnas and Liberation to The Oppressed"

"I am a committed Muslim and every Muslim has the obligation to support the poor, Adivasis and Dalits...It is my duty to stand by you to fight for your rights..If needed, to be a martyr dying for this cause.."

“Freedom has not been achieved so far; to those cannot give proper education to their children, to Dalits and enslaved people of this country, to those innocent people- who were massacred at Bhiwandi, Assam, Gujarat, Jamshedpur, Guwahati, Varanasi, Ayodhya- to the minority communities, to the dispossessed and deprived, to those landless and poor, to those who have no land to bury their dead …When the 50th anniversary of Indian independence day of “Masters” is being celebrated, I have declared that the Subalterns of this country have not yet attained independence…”

Justice for Madani Forum

With the aim of providing legal and financial aid to PDP chairman Abdul Nasser Madani, who has been arrested in connection with the Banglore blast case, to wage legal and political battle, Justice For Madani Forum was constituted under the aegis of various Muslim organisations on 25 August 2010. The Justice for Madani Forum demanded that the Bangalore blast case, in which PDP leader Abdul Nasser Madani, has been listed as an accused, should be probed by any agency outside the state of Karnataka, preferably by the National Investigating Agency (NIA).

The documentary by PK Sasi expands on how Madani was framed.

Assembly resolution

The Kerala assembly on March 16, 2006, passed a unanimous resolution seeking the release of Abdul Nasser Mahdani, on humanitarian grounds.

Controversies

Mahdani had set up the Islamic Seva Sangh in 1989. It was banned in 1992 for alleged subversive act along with RSS, SIMI, Jamath Islami and Shiv Sena following the Babri Masjid demolition.

Investigators allege that suspected south India commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba Thadiyantavide Nazeer came into militancy through ISS founded by Madani. Nazeer is suspected to have established links with LeT and was picked up by Bangladeshi authorities and handed over to BSF on the Meghalaya border. In connection with the Bangalore blast case, Police have presented phone records to the court proving that Madani contacted the main accused Nazeer several times before and after the blast. Phone calls were made from a number registered in Madani’s wife Soofiya's name. According to the police, after orchestrating the blasts Nasir went in hiding at Madani’s office at Anvarssery. However Madani's advocate B V Acharya has contended that it is "only a make believe theory to implicate Madani".

He was alleged in the Coimbatore serial bomb blasts case held on February 14, 1998, that killed 58 people. Mahdani was imprisoned for nine years as an under trial. However, Mahdani was acquitted of all charges. Mahdani charged that there is an hidden political agenda in connecting him with the Coimbatore blast case. But there was none.

Mahdani is lodged in Karnataka jail and is in judicial custody for his involvement in the 2008 Bangalore serial blasts and similar incidents in Ahmedabad, Surat and Jaipur. Two persons were killed and 20 injured when the blasts rocked the cyber city at nine locations in 2008. As per Karnataka state Home Minister V S Acharya, Mahdani also allegedly admitted role in the 2010 Bangalore stadium bombing on April 17, 2010, which he had denied earlier. After a court issued a fresh non-bailable warrant, he proffered to surrender so as to avoid 'unpleasant situations' when he was to be arrested. On February 11, 2011, the Karnataka High Court had rejected Mahdani's plea. The High Court had said, "There is seldom ever that direct evidence is there in such cases. Conspiracy by very nature is hatched in complete secrecy otherwise the whole purpose will be frustrated. The testimonies of witnesses, G Prabhakar, KB Rafeeq and KK Yoganand were quoted in the judgement dismissing the bail plea. At the final hearing Justice Markandey Katju uttered that he was wondering as to how a person on a wheel chair could pose a threat if released on bail.? Finally the Supreme court bench was divided on granting bail to Mahdani and posted the matter to chief justice of India to form a new bench to decide on the plea. In March 2013 madani was granted a 5-day interim bail to attend his daughter's(shemeera maudani) wedding and to vsist his ailing father. On 21 October 2013, the Supreme court of India directed the Karnataka Government to immediately shift Mahdani to a private hospital for treatment. The court also allowed his wife to be along with him as a bystander during his stay in the hospital. On 24th July 2017, his bail application for attending his son's marriage on 9th August was rejected by NIA court. In response to this,his party PDP called for state wide harthal in Kerala on 26th July 2017.

His testimony in the chargesheet reads, "I have seen strangers visit the estate. Among them was a man wearing a cap. I had seen him only on television. I realised that the man was Mahdani." Some of the Bharatiya Janata Party and RSS workers said they had not seen Mahdani in the area. The testimony of Rafeeq, who had worked in the Lakkeri estate as a labour and was arrested by SIT in 2008 reads,