There are 'faces' that remain etched in people's memory, reminding them of tragedies or calamities—the most recent of them being the image of a woman, bloody and covered in debris, after the Brussels attacks.
Now, one such face or rather the person behind the face, Qutubuddin Ansari, who became the face of 2002 Gujarat riots after his photo in which he was shown pleading for his life with folded hands and teary eyes was widely published across the country, has come out claiming that his face is being 'used' by political parties in Assam and West Bengal assembly polls without his consent.
It appears that the political rivals, targetting the BJP, have nothing new to come up with as they still rake up the issue of Gujarat riots, using the face of Ansari. The posters seen in Assam read: 'Do you want Assam to be another Gujarat? The decision is yours. Only alternative to Congress in Assam is the Congress,' according to media reports.
Ansari (43) said for the past 14 years, his photo has been used and misused not just by political outfits, but even by Bollywood and militant outfits like Indian Mujahideen.
He said every time his image is used for a political campaign or any such purposes, life is becoming increasingly difficult for him, adding that people have been questioning his motives even though the image is being used without his consent.
Life wasn't easy for Ansari after he became the face of Gujarat riots. He was sacked from his job and had to relocate to Kolkata for a while before coming back to Gujarat in 2008 after his ailing mother asked him to do so.
