People's Democracy

on file

THE state remained in turmoil for the second consecutive day today over the roughing up of media persons who had gone to the Karipur airport on Monday to cover the return of the industries minister, P K Kunhalikutty, after performing ‘Umarah’ at Mecca allegedly by Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) workers for reporting the disclosures made by Rejina, a witness in the ice-cream parlour sex racket case.

While Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi were the hubs of the turmoil, developments relating to the issue were reported from many other places also.

A fast was held here before the secretariat by LDF leaders to protest the incident. The Leader of the Oppositions, V S Achuthanandan, who inaugurated the fast, and the others who spoke, including the CPI(M) state secretary, Pinarayi Vijayan, condemned the attack as “an onslaught on the freedom of the press” and demanded stringent action. They lashed out at the police for their inaction.

The arrival of a march in support of Kunhalikutty organised by the Muslim League suddenly surcharged the atmosphere. The Muslim League workers, who were in a belligerent mood, started flexing their muscles at, among others, the presspersons but beat a hasty retreat when they realised that they were outnumbered. It was only after their exit that demonstrations by feeder organisations of the LDF reached the scene.      

--- The Hindu, November 3

BJP CONTINUES to bubble with discontent. In an interview to a TV channel, former Gujarat governor Sunder Singh Bhandari took a swipe at chief minister Narendra Modi and his handling of the riots.

Bhandari told the channel that “the damage that took place after the Gujarat riots could have been prevented if the state government took strong measures from the first moment.”

This scathing indictment of the Modi government could’ve have caused serious trouble to the chief minister if only Bhandari had cared to put it down in the official files.

The fact that he chose to keep such counsel to himself during his stint in the Raj Bhawan in Gandhinagar seems more than ironic. It was only many months after he demitted his responsibilities as governor that Bhandari has felt that all was not well in Gujarat.

--- The Times of India, November 3

THE survivors of the massacres at Naroda Patiya and Naroda Gaam have, following the Supreme Court’s intervention in the post-Godhra riot cases, written to the director-general of the Gujarat police demanding legal action against the investigating officials for their negligence.

In many of these cases, they said, the police had failed to follow up leads and had given the benefit of the doubt in several instances to those allegedly guilty of the massacres……

In the letter, the victims have pointed out contradictions in the police investigation that gave (the accused) benefit of the doubt…...

Members of Citizens’ Initiative, a body of NGOs working with riot victims in the state, specify that though the 28 FIRs mention the names of activists from the Bajrang Dal, employees of ST workshop, police staff and residents of Gangotri Society, their identification parade had not been done till now.

--- The Asian Age, October 18

TAMING the BJP’s squabbling GenNext is easier said than done, Advani is discovering after being stumped by the sordid Uma Bharti episode. The temperamental sanyasin has made to clear that she wants to reclaim the Madhya Pradesh chief minister’s chair. The mandate was for me, she told Advani. When she was reminded that it was more a case of the Congress losing than the BJP winning, she changed her tune to demand that she be appointed chairperson of a coordination committee to advise the chief minister.

The reaction from Bhopal was frightening. The chief minister, Babulal Gaur, threatened to quit. After spending more than 30 years in politics, winning 10 elections and being cabinet minister in Madhya Pradesh several times, it was an insult to suggest that he needs “advice” to run the government, he thundered.

That was only one part of the story. Bharti’s camp followers decided to use the episode to settle scores with Pramod Mahajan for belittling her during the Maharashtra elections with snide remarks about her tiranga yatra. They called up select members of the press and said that she had decided not to join Advani’s team because of Mahajan. Bang came the counter. Mahajan’s camp rang up the same press correspondents to deny the reports and leak details of her efforts to get Gaur out.

--- The Asian Age, November 3