With the three judges bench of the Supreme Court conceding to the demand of Sangh Parivar’s senior most lawyer Ram Jethmalani to have a fresh look on the appointment of Special Investigation Team (SIT) for investigating certain specified cases of ghastliest ever communal violence in Gujarat in 2002, a very pernicious plan of the Narendra Modi administration is getting unveiled. After Modi responds to SIT summon, the very mechanism will become redundant for the Sangh Parivar.
There is no doubt that right from the burning of the two bogies of Sabarmati Express on February 27, 2002 at Godhra to the ghastliest ever anti-Muslim pogrom that continued for months in almost all districts of Gujarat, every thing was planned and executed by various outfits of the Sangh Parivar with complete support of the police and administration of the state government headed by Narendra Modi. Everything was justified by the Sangh Parivar leaders including the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee quoting the Newton’s law of action and reaction. But the theory of action (Godhra train incident) itself proved to be a hoax. None of the reserved passengers (supposedly Kar Sevaks returning from Ayodhaya) died in the incident. All Kar Sevaks had detrained at Godhra before the burning incident took place. Those burnt alive were unreserved passengers. ( Mamata Banerjee who now a days misses no opportunity to shed tears on any issue related with Muslims may kindly go through the report on Godhra incident conducted by Railway ministry as well as the list of those reserved passengers who were travelling in the two bogies and were found alive when railways wanted to pay compensation).
The Modi administration not only presided over the massacre of Muslims in the post-Godhra violence, it manipulated the judicial process as well to protect the perpetrators of the violence. The way cases related with burning of a Vadodara bakery and Zaheera Sheikh were manipulated, it became obvious that till Narendra Modi is at the helm of affairs in Gujarat nobody will be punished and whole thing will be hushed up. In such a situation, a few social\activists approached the Supreme Court and pleaded that the crucial cases of Gujarat riots be transferred outside the state. Two cases were conducted in Maharashtra.
It was found that as the investigation is being conducted (or manipulated) by police under Modi administration, there could be no proper prosecution even in courts outside Gujarat. Hence demand for a SIT appointed by the Supreme was raised and conceded by the Apex Court. But the recent events indicate that the Sangh Parivar is even manipulating the SIT to its advantage. Even summoning of Modi by the SIT seems to be stage-managed. It is an attempt to provide a plateform to Modi to get many of the "doubts" cleared about his role in the riots. BJP new chief, under RSS instructions had started openly projecting Modi as a leader with enough potential for becoming the Prime Minister.
The very composition of the SIT has been questioned since day one. The six-member team includes three IPS officers of Gujarat cadre who are still working under the Modi administration. It includes Geeta Johri, currently Commissioner of Police Rajkot. She was pulled up by the Supreme Court for shoddy investigations into the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter. Another member is Shivanand Jha, Additional DGP and Commissioner of Police, Surat. He was Commissioner of Police in Ahmadabad during the communal violence. Then there is Aashis Bhatia who had been accused of producing distorted statements from prosecution witnesses in several riot related cases. He is currently IGP posted in Ahmadabad.
With these three IPS officers on SIT, one could understand what the game plan behind summoning of Modi is. The RSS boys including Gadkari are repeatedly saying that Modi will abide by law and respond to the SIT summon. This occasion will be used to get Modi "cleared" as well as to re-assert the Sangh Parivar’s theory that no more investigations be carried out in Gujarat riots as it revives the wounds.
The choice of the case for summoning Modi is also interesting. He has been summoned in relation to investigation of Gulmarg Society killing incidents in which former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was among those murdered by the RSS hordes. So far, SIT had not dug up any evidence that could go against Modi personally. If the SIT really wanted to pin down Modi and his colleagues, it should have taken up the case of Naroda Patia massacre. There is enough call records establishing that the RSS-BJP leaders involved in this massacre were in direct contact with chief minister’s office.
The way pro-RSS pen-pushers and propagandists in the Media are playing up the summoning of Modi by SIT, it seems the idea is to get a "clean chit" from a Supreme Court appointed outfit for a person whom RSS is planning to project as Prime-Ministerial candidate. Secular forces can ignore this ploy on their peril.
CPI Demands General Amnesty for Kashmiri Youth
CPI state secretary of Jammu and Kashmir, Kanwal Dev in a press conference issued the following statements on February 28, 2010:
While reviewing the policy of surrender and rehabilitation of Kashmiri youth crossing to PoK to undergo terror training for subversive activities is acceptable in principle, the CPI opines that refugees of PoK who had been drifted from their hearths and homes to this part of the state may be facilitated smooth return to their homes. They shall be permitted to occupy their ancestral properties in PoK. The process to grant general amnesty to Kashmiri youth and rehabilitation of PoK refugees must take place simultaneously. CPI takes this step in its resolve to settle this very political issue taking all pros and cons into consideration.
Further regarding bilateral talks to be held in the near future the party welcomes this initiative taken. The process of talks shall continue at various political levels. It is more important that mutual trust between both the neighbouring countries is strengthened and fruitful and result-oriented opportunities are created for the resolution of the Kashmir issue. Others who attended the press conference were: A. R. Tukroo, Rakesh Sharma, M. Das, Naresh Munshi and Amarjeet Singh.
FRONT PAGE
People’s March Warns Govt Against Price Rise
Call for Jail Bharo on April 8
C. Adhikesavan
Thousands of enthusiastic activists of Left parties hit the Delhi streets on March 12, 2010 to protest against price rise with its leaders announcing observation of Satyagraha-jail bharo on April 8 demanding immediate action on the issue.
The massive rally marched from Ramlila Maidan to Jantar Mantar demanding action from the government to bring down the prices of essential commodities and roll back petroleum products price hike.
The Parliament Street stretch from the Sardar Patel roundabout towards Rajiv Chowk was awash with red flags, banners, placard and buntings displaying anti-government slogans. The rally culminated at Jantar Mantar winding through a corridor connecting the Ram Lila Grounds to somewhere close to Parliament. From the beginning to the end of the march, the participants raised sky-renting and spirited slogans against the anti-people policies of the government.
The ‘March to Parliament’ led by the four Left parties – Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India CPI(M), Forward Bloc and RSP was one of the biggest since the 1990s. However it was only a beginning as the leaders asserted, since the campaigns and struggles were going to be further intensified in the coming days.
The leaders of the Left parties, while addressing the rally, announced that there would be countrywide mass picketing and ‘court arrest’ programmes outside Central government offices in all district headquarters on April 8. In the militant jail bharo on April 8 across the country, they declared that they would defy the laws at various places to emphasise their demands.
Some 25 lakh people will take part in the programme demanding immediate steps to curb price rise and for strengthening of the Public Distribution System (PDS), which suffers from large scale food grain diversion as well as corruption because of unsolicited political interference as well as black marketing by fair price shop dealers. There will also be demands raised for implementation of land reforms and creation of employment opportunities.
The meeting was addressed by CPI general secretary A. B. Bardhan, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat, Forward Bloc general secretary Debabrata Biswas, RSP general secretary T. J. Chandrachoodan, CPI Parliamentary Party leader Gurudas Dasgupta and CPI(M) Parliamentary Party leader Sitaram Yechury. At the massive rally, charging Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with favouring the capitalists, A. B. Bardhan said Dr. Singh had been extending both support and benefits to the corporate sector. He alleged that the prime minister had become a “broker of capitalists”.
He stressed that the government must take steps to control price rise, ensure right to food and health and strengthen public distribution system among others. The UPA government that came to power promising to work for the ‘aam aadmi’ (common man) had jettisoned the approach to favour the rich and corporate sector, he said.
Bardhan said Left parties would move a cut motion when the Finance Bill was taken up for consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha, demanding a rollback of duties on petroleum products announced in the Union budget.
CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said: “The government has failed in controlling prices…it is shirking responsibility putting the blame on state governments. The April 8 agitation will be the biggest mass movement…if the government does not listen we will work against it during the remainder of the budget session.”
“The corporate sector has been given concessions worth Rs. 80,000 crore while it imposed Rs. 60,000 by way of indirect taxes on the working class, and only a meagre Rs. 1000 crore had been given as unemployment allowance to the jobless youth,” AITUC general secretary and member of Parliament Gurudas Dasgupta said.
Abani Roy (RSP) warned of disorder if ‘aam aadmi’ fails to get foodgrain. “If the government fails to provide foodgrains to all, it means it is inefficient and there is a need to change this government,” he said.
The Left agitation in the capital against price rise had its echo in Parliament on March 12 with members of four Left parties along with TDP and SP walking out of both the Houses protesting the government’s “lack of response” to their demand for a white paper on the issue. The Left parties have intensified their crusade against the Congress-led UPA government. In Lok Sabha BJP, RJD, BSP and BJD have extended their support to the Left parties.
Supporting these demands, D Raja, CPI national council secretary and member of Parliament, said in the house that while UPA-II talks about food security, it has been in fact slashing subsidies on food and fertilisers.
Raising the issue in Lok Sabha, Gurudas Dasgupta said, the Left parties have raised the matter a number of times in the House, but there has been no response from the government and the prices have continued to rise. He said,’We demand that the government come out with a white paper and take action to check the rising prices.’
In a two-pronged strategy, the Left attacked both the UPA government at the Centre as well its main rival in West Bengal — Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress. The Left leaders pointed out while talking about the achievements of Left Front in West Bengal that it was the first state to give 10 per cent job quota to Muslims.
Meanwhile, since the Congress government has made it clear that there would be no rollback on the recent increase in fuel prices, there would be further increase in the intensity of the struggle of the opposition parties in future because:
Inflation has almost hit double figures since February, raising expectations that the central bank will hike interest rates next month.
Prices of fuel, rubber, plastic and cement have jumped during the month, as the economy accelerated out of last year’s downturn.
Annual inflation as measured by the wholesale price index, or WPI, rose to a 16-month high of 9.89 percent from 8.56 percent in January.
Food prices, accelerating after the country’s worst monsoon in nearly four decades last year, rocketed upto 17.79 percent, putting pressure on the government, which has been under attack from the opposition over the cost of living.
The RBI will have to act. There would be higher fuel and commodity prices. It has estimated that inflation will be 8.5 percent by the end of the current financial year this month.
expatriates in Kenya, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging him to ensure their safety in that country.
