Saturday, March 21, 2009
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Demand a Commission of Inquiry against Sonia Gandhi
Mumbai terror attack
IANS
Politicians sponsoring terrorism with foreign support: Rane
Saturday, 06 December , 2008, 19:23
Mumbai: Suspended Congress leader Narayan Rane on Saturday hit out at his rivals within the party, saying some Indian political leaders were supporting external forces and financing terror activities in the country.
"The government must conduct an inquiry into this aspect and if required, I can provide evidence. I am making this statement with full responsibility," Rane told a packed media conference at his residence here. He said that these political leaders not only financed terrorists but also provided them safe haven in the country.
Ashok Chavan to be Maharashtra CM, Rane furious
He, however, declined to name any leaders or parties, saying: "When the right time comes, I shall provide all these details." He also alleged that Congress leaders were only interested in making money and had no regard for public sentiments or the development of the country.
His allegations came after he was suspended from the party earlier in the day for indiscipline. He was critical of the party leadership for ignoring him while choosing Ashok Chavan as the next Maharashtra chief minister.
Vilasrao Deshmukh resigned as chief minister earlier this week, taking moral responsibility for failing to prevent the November 26 terrorist attacks here.
Chidambaram admits lapses
Detailing his version of the political developments in the past two days, Rane said that a conspiracy had been hatched in Varsha, the official residence of the chief minister, to keep him out of the post "at all cost". "Deshmukh, along with state party president Manikrao Thakre and Mumbai party chief Kripa Shankar Singh, with the backing of some industrialists, conspired to prevent me from becoming chief minister, though 48 legislators had proposed my name - as compared to 32 who supported Chavan - to the party's central observers," Rane said.
"With this kind of support, my name was due to be announced, it was stopped at the last minute," Rane claimed. He warned that if his political rivals continued to make baseless allegations against him, he would be compelled to show his "strength" in the party.
Chhagan Bhujbal to be Maharashtra deputy CM
"Even at this juncture, I can block the new government from taking office. I can prove the support I enjoy among the legislators. I can approach the state governor and bring to his notice that (chief minister-designate) Ashok Chavan does not enjoy majority support. "However, keeping in view the grim situation confronting Mumbai and the state in the wake of the terrorist attacks, I shall not take this step," Rane declared.
Continuing his attack on Deshmukh, Rane read out what he said were official government records proving that the outgoing chief minister had been involved in a number of land scams. He threatened that he had gathered "so much evidence against Deshmukh" that he could expose a new scam every day.
Shiv Sena urges president to dismiss Maharashtra govt
"They were scared that if I become chief minister, all their scams along with several industrialists would be out in the open. That's why they had decided even before the legislators' meetings with the central party observers that I should not be allowed to become chief minister at any cost," Rane said.
Welcoming his "expulsion" from the Congress, Rane regretted that the party did not want honest and capable persons. Despite persistent questioning, Rane declined to reveal his future course of action, and laughed off suggestions that he was "offered" plum posts by the Congress as well as other parties.
Responding to a query, he asserted that he had never uttered a word against Congress president Sonia Gandhi nor insulted her political advisor Ahmed Patel, as alleged by his rivals. "I hold her and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in great esteem and have great respect for them," he said.
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14813223
Serious charges against Sonia and Congress leaders of criminal cognizable offences – by Narayan Rane. Sonia, quit public offices, quit politics.
What Narayan Rane has alleged are NOT internal affairs of the Congress Party.
He has accused Congress of selling the nation for money. This is a charge of sedition.
The credibility of Sonia Gandhi is at its lowest gutter level. He has been betrayed by Sonia Gandhi who had promised to make him CM and ditched him.
"Congress leaders are selling nation for money. Congress doesn't like people with self-respect or people who work for people so I was sure they wouldn't keep me," added Rane.
"Congress leaders like Vilasrao Deshmukh and Ahmed Patel were involved in scams of Videocon, Hudco, MHADA, MIDC among others," he said.
These allegations of selling the nation for money, of scams and corruption involving public funds are charges which demand a Commission of Inquiry to nail the named culprits -- Vilasraol Deshmukh and Ahmed Patel and bring them to justice.
It is a well-known secret that every week 120 were being sent in by Deshmukh to Congress High Command.
The most serious charge Rane made is treaon. "Suspended Congress leader Narayan Rane Saturday hit out at his rivals within the party, saying some Indian political leaders were supporting external forces and financing terror activities in the country.”The government must conduct an inquiry into this aspect and if required, I can provide evidence. I am making this statement with full responsibility,” Rane told a packed media conference at his residence here."
Speaker of the Lok Sabha should take suo moto notice of these serious charges and suspend the privileges of Sonia Gandhi as a Member of the Lok Sabha.
President should advice the PM to constitute an inquiry commission forthwith against Sonia Gandhi and leaders of the Congress Party.
All parties should support this demand for an inquiry commission in the national interest and redeem the image of politicians which has reached very low levels in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai islamist jihadi terror attack.
These charges supplement the j’accuse report of Francois Gautier (attached for ready reference) asking Sonia Gandhi to quit forthwith.
Kalyanaraman
Politicians sponsoring terrorism with foreign support: Rane (Lead)
December 6th, 2008 - 7:10 pm ICT by IANS -
Mumbai, Dec 6 (IANS) Suspended Congress leader Narayan Rane Saturday hit out at his rivals within the party, saying some Indian political leaders were supporting external forces and financing terror activities in the country.”The government must conduct an inquiry into this aspect and if required, I can provide evidence. I am making this statement with full responsibility,” Rane told a packed media conference at his residence here.
He said that these political leaders not only financed terrorists but also provided them safe haven in the country.
He, however, declined to name any leaders or parties, saying: “When the right time comes, I shall provide all these details.”
He also alleged that Congress leaders were only interested in making money and had no regard for public sentiments or the development of the country.
His allegations came after he was suspended from the party earlier in the day for indiscipline. He was critical of the party leadership for ignoring him while choosing Ashok Chavan as the next Maharashtra chief minister.
Vilasrao Deshmukh resigned as chief minister earlier this week, taking moral responsibility for failing to prevent the Nov 26 terrorist attacks here.
Detailing his version of the political developments in the past two days, Rane said that a conspiracy had been hatched in Varsha, the official residence of the chief minister, to keep him out of the post “at all cost”.
“Deshmukh, along with state party president Manikrao Thakre and Mumbai party chief Kripa Shankar Singh, with the backing of some industrialists, conspired to prevent me from becoming chief minister, though 48 legislators had proposed my name - as compared to 32 who supported Chavan - to the party’s central observers,” Rane said.
“With this kind of support, my name was due to be announced, it was stopped at the last minute,” Rane claimed.
He warned that if his political rivals continued to make baseless allegations against him, he would be compelled to show his “strength” in the party.
“Even at this juncture, I can block the new government from taking office. I can prove the support I enjoy among the legislators. I can approach the state governor and bring to his notice that (chief minister-designate) Ashok Chavan does not enjoy majority support.
“However, keeping in view the grim situation confronting Mumbai and the state in the wake of the terrorist attacks, I shall not take this step,” Rane declared.
Continuing his attack on Deshmukh, Rane read out what he said were official government records proving that the outgoing chief minister had been involved in a number of land scams.
He threatened that he had gathered “so much evidence against Deshmukh” that he could expose a new scam every day.
“They were scared that if I become chief minister, all their scams along with several industrialists would be out in the open. That’s why they had decided even before the legislators’ meetings with the central party observers that I should not be allowed to become chief minister at any cost,” Rane said.
Welcoming his “expulsion” from the Congress, Rane regretted that the party did not want honest and capable persons.
Despite persistent questioning, Rane declined to reveal his future course of action, and laughed off suggestions that he was “offered” plum posts by the Congress as well as other parties.
Responding to a query, he asserted that he had never uttered a word against Congress president Sonia Gandhi nor insulted her political advisor Ahmed Patel, as alleged by his rivals.
“I hold her and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in great esteem and have great respect for them,” he said.
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/politicians-sponsoring-terrorism-with-foreign-support-rane-lead_100127913.html
Rane lashes out at Cong after suspension
Agencies
SPEAKING OUT: In a press conference Rane lashed out at Congress accusing it of selling the nation for money.
New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday suspended Maharashtra Revenue Minister Narayan Rane for "gross indiscipline" following his public outburst against the party high command after he was ignored for the post of state chief minister.
"I have learnt from TV channels that I've been suspended from Congress, as nothing has been communicated to me," Rane said while addresing a press conference on Saturday.
"Congress leaders are selling nation for money. Congress doesn't like people with self-respect or people who work for people so I was sure they wouldn't keep me," added Rane.
While lashing out at Congress Rane said that the Government is in minority and cannot be formed without the support of his MLAs.
"I have 25 to 30 MLAs who support me. I can go to the Governor but I will not go to him for the sake of the state," he said.
Rane also verbally attacked former Mahsrashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, saying he had taken the state back by 20 years. He also accused Deshmukh and Ahmed Patel of corruption.
"Congress leaders like Vilasrao Deshmukh and Ahmed Patel were involved in scams of Videocon, Hudco, MHADA, MIDC among others," he said.
"I had 48 supporters in assembly, by number I should have won. If the decision was later attributed to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, why did they ask MLAs for opinion in first place," he demaded.
Meanwhile, decision to suspend Rane comes a day after he attacked outgoing Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and chief minister-designate Ashok Chavan, as well as the party, at a hurriedly convened media briefing at his residence.
"It has been observed that after the announcement of the new leader of the CLP in Maharashtra, Narayan Rane is making public statements deliberately with a view to lowering the prestige of the Indian National Congress," said AICC General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi.
"The party has taken a serious view of his utterances and considering this as a case of gross indiscipline, Narayan Rane has been suspended from the party with immediate effect," he said in a statement hours before Rane was scheduled to hold a press conference in Mumbai on Saturday.
Rane, whose name was being considered for the top post after Deshmukh resigned on Wednesday in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, opted out of the race after the party leadership selected Industry Minister Ashok Chavan for the top job.
http://ibnlive.in.com/printpage.php?id=79883§ion_id=3
Rane, who was overlooked by the party high command in favour Ashok Chavan [Images] for Chief Ministership, had attacked the Congress leadership yesterday accusing it of reneging on a promise to make him the chief minister.
"I don't trust even Sonia Gandhi anymore", he said which party sources said was the trigger for his suspension.
Rane, a leader from the Konkan area who had left Shiv Sena three years ago, had attacked not only Deshmukh but also Ashok Chavan and some central leaders and accused them of conspiring and ignoring his claim for the top job in the state.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/dec/06maharashtra-congress-suspends-narayan-rane.htm
Have lost faith in Sonia: Rane
6 Dec 2008, 0452 hrs IST, Prafulla Marpakwar, TNN
MUMBAI: A few hours before external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee declared Ashok Chavan as the state's new CM, revenue minister Narayan Rane raised a banner of revolt against the leadership of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, saying that he had lost confidence in the party high command.
Rane also launched a frontal attack on outgoing CM Vilasrao Deshmukh, MPCC president Manikrao Thakre and Mumbai Congress president Kripa Shankar Singh, saying that they were hand-in-gloves and that Deshmukh was a blot on Maharashtra politics. Rane didn't forget to predict that Congress would be wiped out in the coming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. ( Watch )
"When I joined Congress three years ago, I was promised the CM's post. On Thursday, when party observers were in the process of declaring me as the leader of the legislature party, there was some sudden pressure on them and they declared the new leader would be announced in Delhi. The entire exercise was a farce," Rane told reporters at his official residence on Friday.
Party insiders said Rane would quit Congress and float his own regional party with eight to 10 legislators. He said, "I have no plan to quit the party now but, sooner or later, I will have to take a decision. Congress is not a reliable organisation."
Rane made it clear that it wasn't possible for him to work under the leadership of Ashok Chavan as he was the "most incompetent politician". "No sensible politican will work under him and there is no question of my joining the cabinet," he said.
Deshmukh and Thakre summoned a section of Congress legislators to Varsha, the CM's official residence, when he emerged as a front-runner for the top post, Rane alleged. "My information is that a majority of legislators were in my favour. But Deshmukh and Thakre told them that they would be denied party tickets if they did not vote in Chavan's favour. So they voted in his favour in the presence of party observers," Rane said.
Deshmukh, however, reacted sharply to Rane's uncalled-for allegations. "I feel he is reacting like this because he is frustrated. All decisions on leadership issues is taken by the high command in Congress and there is no way I could have influenced the decision," he told TOI.
Once a firebrand Sena leader, Rane quit the party after his differences with Sena executive president Udhav Thackeray and joined Congress. Rane claimed that he was promised the CM's post — "in reasonable time" — when he joined the party but the Congress high command has maintained no such promise was made to him.
The main worry for Congress now is the political fallout of Rane's anger. "He was never with the party in the real sense though he joined Congress as he was all along aiming for the chief minister's post. We don't think his quitting the party will have any impact," a senior Congress leader said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3799718,prtpage-1.cms
I can topple Chavan govt if I wish to: Rane
Mumbai (PTI): Suspended Congress leader Narayan Rane today claimed that he holds key to the survival of soon-to-be-formed Ashok Chavan led Congress-NCP Government in Maharashtra.
"If I wish, I can prevent the new government from taking charge or topple it when it is formed. The new government is not in a majority and I can prove it on the floor of the house, even if the opposition does not demand a trust vote," Rane, who was suspended for his latest utterances against the party after he lost in the chief ministerial race, told a press conference here.
Rane refused to divulge his future course of action when the winter session of the legislature would be convened in Nagpur this month.
"I will be going to Nagpur," he said.
He said he could provide a letter of 30 MLAs to the Governor saying that they were not supporting the new government.
"I am refraining from doing this because the prevailing situation in the aftermath of terror attacks in Mumbai is not right. I warn the Congress not to provoke me to take such a step," he added.
Referring to his suspension from the Congress, Rane said he had been expecting the action.
"I consider this as a good omen. In 1997, Vilasrao Deshmukh was suspended from the party for six years and in 1999 he became the chief minister," Rane added.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/001200812061831.htm
Sonia’s presence in Delhi is costing India dearly
Francois Gautier 2 Dec. 2008-12-06
Source: New Indian Express
In 1898, the French writer Emile Zola wrote an open letter to the then French president in the newspaper L’Aurore, titled j’accuse (‘I accuse’), where he accused the French government of anti- Semitism towards Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer unfairly condemned for treason.
Now it is time for the people of India to say openly that which many, including within the Congress, think secretly and may utter in the privacy of their chambers.It is not about Manmohan Singh, it is not even about Shivraj Patil, the fall guy; it is about that one person, the Eminence Grise of India. She who pulls all the strings, She whose shadow looms menacingly over so many, She who holds no portfolio, is just a simple elected MP, like 540 others, but rules like an empress.
Sometimes, one’s very physical presence at the top is enough to move things, to influence the course of events. One word from Her, a glance, a frown, are enough to put the whole heavy, inert, unwilling machinery of India’s bureaucracy and political system in full motion. Sometimes She need not say anything: in the true tradition of Bhakti, Her ministers, Her secretaries, interpret Her silences and rush to cater to Her western and Christian identity.
Nevertheless, she has said and acted enough so that one day she may stand accused on the pages of History for what she must have done to India.
I’accuse Sonia Gandhi as being responsible for the tragedy of Mumbai, having emasculated India’s intelligence agencies by stopping them from investigating terror attacks in the last four years, including the Mumbai train blasts. She has also neutralised the ATS by ordering them at all costs to ferret out ‘Hindu terrorism’, which if it exists, has wrought minuscule damage compared to what Islamic terror has done since 2004.
Did the US send a warning to India that there may be an attack on Mumbai and that the Taj would be one of the targets? Were these ignored because the ATS was too busy chasing Hindu ‘terrorists’ on Sonia’s orders? I accuse Sonia and her government of having made the NSG the laughing stock of the world. How many times did the NSG (who took ten hours to reach Mumbai) claim that it had “sanitised the Taj and that the operation was over” and how many times did a bomb go off immediately after? For the last 20 years, the NSG has guarded VIPs and has become soft. See the comments of Israeli terror specialists, who said the NSG should have first sanitised the immediate surroundings of the places of conflict, kept the bystanders and press (who gave terrorists watching TV in the Taj rooms a perfect report of the security forces’ whereabouts) out of the place, gathered enough information about the position of the terrorists and hostages before taking action, instead of immediately engaging the terrorists, and ensuring the deaths of so many hostages.
I accuse Sonia of having let her Christian and Western background, in four years, divide India on religious and caste lines in a cynical and methodical manner.
I accuse Sonia of weakening India’s spirit of sacrifice and courage, so that 20 terrorists (or less) held at ransom the financial capital of India for more than three days.
I accuse Sonia Gandhi of always pointing the finger at Pakistan, when terrorism in India is now mostly homegrown, even if it takes help, training, refuge and arms from Pakistan; of not warning Indians of the grave dangers of Islamic terror for cynical election purposes.
I accuse Sonia of being an enemy of the Hindus, who always gave refuge to persecuted minorities, and who are the only people in the world to accept that God may manifest under different names, in different epochs, using different scriptures.
I accuse Sonia Gandhi of taking advantage of India’s respect for women, its undue fascination with the Gandhi name, and its stupid mania for White Skin.
I’accuse Sonia of exploiting the Indian Press’ obsession with her. She hardly ever gave interview in 20 years, except scripted ones to NDTV, yet the Press always protects her, never blames her and keeps silent over her covert role.
I’accuse Sonia and her government of trying to make heroes of subservient and inefficient men to hide the humiliation of Mumbai 26/11. Before going to his death, Hemant Karkare, the ATS chief, was shown on television clumsily handling his helmet, as someone who uses it very rarely. Why did he die of bullet wounds in the chest when he was wearing a bullet-proof vest? Either Indian vests are inferior quality or he was not wearing one.
How did the terrorists who killed him and his fellow officer escape in the same vehicle used by the ATS chief ? Why did he and his officers go into Cama Hospital without ascertaining where the terrorists were? We honour his death, but these facts say a lot about the ATS’ battle-readiness.
Will someone in the Congress, someone who feels more Indian than faithful to Sonia, stand up and speak the truth? Who said, “Go after Hindu terrorists”? Who insisted on putting pressure on BJP governments in Karnataka or Orissa for so-called persecution of Christians, when Christians have always practised their faith in total freedom here, while their missionaries are converting hundreds of thousands of innocent tribals and Dalits with the billions of dollars given by gullible westerners? Who said, “Go soft on Islamic terrorism”? Who wants to do away with India’s nuclear deterrence in the face of Pakistani and Chinese nuclear threats, by pushing at all costs the one sided Indo-US nuclear deal, which makes no secret of its intention to denuclearise India militarily? I am sure Sonia Gandhi has good qualities: she probably was a good wife to Rajiv, a good daughter in law to Indira and by all accounts, she is a good mother to her children. One also hears first-hand reports about her concern for smaller people, her dignity in the suffering that befell her when her husband was blown to pieces, and her courtesy with visitors.
Nevertheless, she is a danger to India.
Her very presence, both physical and occult, open the doors to forces inimical to India. Even Indian Christians should understand that she is not a gift to them: her presence at the top has emboldened fanatics like John Dayal or Valson Thampu, who practise an orthodox Christianity prevalent in the West in the early 20th century, but no longer, to radicalise their flock. Indian Christians should recognise that they have a much better deal here than Christians or Hindus have in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia or Saudi Arabia.
Under Sonia’s rule, Indian Muslims, too, have been used as electoral pawns. They have been encouraged to shun the Sufi streak, a blend of the best of Islam and Vedanta, for a hard-line Sunni brand imported from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
For the good of India, her civilisation, her immense spirituality and culture, Sonia Gandhi has to go and a government that thinks Indian, breathes nationalism and will protect its citizens must be voted to power.
http://francoisgautier.wordpress.com/
http://sites.google.com/site/hindunow/mumbai-s-9-11--islamist-jehadi-terror
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/print.aspx?artid=LNnjswClsuc=
http://www.india-forum.com/indian_politics/200.html Disband Congress, said Gandhi. Act on the guidance 2 Oct. 2008
IANS
Politicians sponsoring terrorism with foreign support: Rane
Saturday, 06 December , 2008, 19:23
Mumbai: Suspended Congress leader Narayan Rane on Saturday hit out at his rivals within the party, saying some Indian political leaders were supporting external forces and financing terror activities in the country.
"The government must conduct an inquiry into this aspect and if required, I can provide evidence. I am making this statement with full responsibility," Rane told a packed media conference at his residence here. He said that these political leaders not only financed terrorists but also provided them safe haven in the country.
Ashok Chavan to be Maharashtra CM, Rane furious
He, however, declined to name any leaders or parties, saying: "When the right time comes, I shall provide all these details." He also alleged that Congress leaders were only interested in making money and had no regard for public sentiments or the development of the country.
His allegations came after he was suspended from the party earlier in the day for indiscipline. He was critical of the party leadership for ignoring him while choosing Ashok Chavan as the next Maharashtra chief minister.
Vilasrao Deshmukh resigned as chief minister earlier this week, taking moral responsibility for failing to prevent the November 26 terrorist attacks here.
Chidambaram admits lapses
Detailing his version of the political developments in the past two days, Rane said that a conspiracy had been hatched in Varsha, the official residence of the chief minister, to keep him out of the post "at all cost". "Deshmukh, along with state party president Manikrao Thakre and Mumbai party chief Kripa Shankar Singh, with the backing of some industrialists, conspired to prevent me from becoming chief minister, though 48 legislators had proposed my name - as compared to 32 who supported Chavan - to the party's central observers," Rane said.
"With this kind of support, my name was due to be announced, it was stopped at the last minute," Rane claimed. He warned that if his political rivals continued to make baseless allegations against him, he would be compelled to show his "strength" in the party.
Chhagan Bhujbal to be Maharashtra deputy CM
"Even at this juncture, I can block the new government from taking office. I can prove the support I enjoy among the legislators. I can approach the state governor and bring to his notice that (chief minister-designate) Ashok Chavan does not enjoy majority support. "However, keeping in view the grim situation confronting Mumbai and the state in the wake of the terrorist attacks, I shall not take this step," Rane declared.
Continuing his attack on Deshmukh, Rane read out what he said were official government records proving that the outgoing chief minister had been involved in a number of land scams. He threatened that he had gathered "so much evidence against Deshmukh" that he could expose a new scam every day.
Shiv Sena urges president to dismiss Maharashtra govt
"They were scared that if I become chief minister, all their scams along with several industrialists would be out in the open. That's why they had decided even before the legislators' meetings with the central party observers that I should not be allowed to become chief minister at any cost," Rane said.
Welcoming his "expulsion" from the Congress, Rane regretted that the party did not want honest and capable persons. Despite persistent questioning, Rane declined to reveal his future course of action, and laughed off suggestions that he was "offered" plum posts by the Congress as well as other parties.
Responding to a query, he asserted that he had never uttered a word against Congress president Sonia Gandhi nor insulted her political advisor Ahmed Patel, as alleged by his rivals. "I hold her and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in great esteem and have great respect for them," he said.
http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14813223
Serious charges against Sonia and Congress leaders of criminal cognizable offences – by Narayan Rane. Sonia, quit public offices, quit politics.
What Narayan Rane has alleged are NOT internal affairs of the Congress Party.
He has accused Congress of selling the nation for money. This is a charge of sedition.
The credibility of Sonia Gandhi is at its lowest gutter level. He has been betrayed by Sonia Gandhi who had promised to make him CM and ditched him.
"Congress leaders are selling nation for money. Congress doesn't like people with self-respect or people who work for people so I was sure they wouldn't keep me," added Rane.
"Congress leaders like Vilasrao Deshmukh and Ahmed Patel were involved in scams of Videocon, Hudco, MHADA, MIDC among others," he said.
These allegations of selling the nation for money, of scams and corruption involving public funds are charges which demand a Commission of Inquiry to nail the named culprits -- Vilasraol Deshmukh and Ahmed Patel and bring them to justice.
It is a well-known secret that every week 120 were being sent in by Deshmukh to Congress High Command.
The most serious charge Rane made is treaon. "Suspended Congress leader Narayan Rane Saturday hit out at his rivals within the party, saying some Indian political leaders were supporting external forces and financing terror activities in the country.”The government must conduct an inquiry into this aspect and if required, I can provide evidence. I am making this statement with full responsibility,” Rane told a packed media conference at his residence here."
Speaker of the Lok Sabha should take suo moto notice of these serious charges and suspend the privileges of Sonia Gandhi as a Member of the Lok Sabha.
President should advice the PM to constitute an inquiry commission forthwith against Sonia Gandhi and leaders of the Congress Party.
All parties should support this demand for an inquiry commission in the national interest and redeem the image of politicians which has reached very low levels in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai islamist jihadi terror attack.
These charges supplement the j’accuse report of Francois Gautier (attached for ready reference) asking Sonia Gandhi to quit forthwith.
Kalyanaraman
Politicians sponsoring terrorism with foreign support: Rane (Lead)
December 6th, 2008 - 7:10 pm ICT by IANS -
Mumbai, Dec 6 (IANS) Suspended Congress leader Narayan Rane Saturday hit out at his rivals within the party, saying some Indian political leaders were supporting external forces and financing terror activities in the country.”The government must conduct an inquiry into this aspect and if required, I can provide evidence. I am making this statement with full responsibility,” Rane told a packed media conference at his residence here.
He said that these political leaders not only financed terrorists but also provided them safe haven in the country.
He, however, declined to name any leaders or parties, saying: “When the right time comes, I shall provide all these details.”
He also alleged that Congress leaders were only interested in making money and had no regard for public sentiments or the development of the country.
His allegations came after he was suspended from the party earlier in the day for indiscipline. He was critical of the party leadership for ignoring him while choosing Ashok Chavan as the next Maharashtra chief minister.
Vilasrao Deshmukh resigned as chief minister earlier this week, taking moral responsibility for failing to prevent the Nov 26 terrorist attacks here.
Detailing his version of the political developments in the past two days, Rane said that a conspiracy had been hatched in Varsha, the official residence of the chief minister, to keep him out of the post “at all cost”.
“Deshmukh, along with state party president Manikrao Thakre and Mumbai party chief Kripa Shankar Singh, with the backing of some industrialists, conspired to prevent me from becoming chief minister, though 48 legislators had proposed my name - as compared to 32 who supported Chavan - to the party’s central observers,” Rane said.
“With this kind of support, my name was due to be announced, it was stopped at the last minute,” Rane claimed.
He warned that if his political rivals continued to make baseless allegations against him, he would be compelled to show his “strength” in the party.
“Even at this juncture, I can block the new government from taking office. I can prove the support I enjoy among the legislators. I can approach the state governor and bring to his notice that (chief minister-designate) Ashok Chavan does not enjoy majority support.
“However, keeping in view the grim situation confronting Mumbai and the state in the wake of the terrorist attacks, I shall not take this step,” Rane declared.
Continuing his attack on Deshmukh, Rane read out what he said were official government records proving that the outgoing chief minister had been involved in a number of land scams.
He threatened that he had gathered “so much evidence against Deshmukh” that he could expose a new scam every day.
“They were scared that if I become chief minister, all their scams along with several industrialists would be out in the open. That’s why they had decided even before the legislators’ meetings with the central party observers that I should not be allowed to become chief minister at any cost,” Rane said.
Welcoming his “expulsion” from the Congress, Rane regretted that the party did not want honest and capable persons.
Despite persistent questioning, Rane declined to reveal his future course of action, and laughed off suggestions that he was “offered” plum posts by the Congress as well as other parties.
Responding to a query, he asserted that he had never uttered a word against Congress president Sonia Gandhi nor insulted her political advisor Ahmed Patel, as alleged by his rivals.
“I hold her and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in great esteem and have great respect for them,” he said.
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/politicians-sponsoring-terrorism-with-foreign-support-rane-lead_100127913.html
Rane lashes out at Cong after suspension
Agencies
SPEAKING OUT: In a press conference Rane lashed out at Congress accusing it of selling the nation for money.
New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday suspended Maharashtra Revenue Minister Narayan Rane for "gross indiscipline" following his public outburst against the party high command after he was ignored for the post of state chief minister.
"I have learnt from TV channels that I've been suspended from Congress, as nothing has been communicated to me," Rane said while addresing a press conference on Saturday.
"Congress leaders are selling nation for money. Congress doesn't like people with self-respect or people who work for people so I was sure they wouldn't keep me," added Rane.
While lashing out at Congress Rane said that the Government is in minority and cannot be formed without the support of his MLAs.
"I have 25 to 30 MLAs who support me. I can go to the Governor but I will not go to him for the sake of the state," he said.
Rane also verbally attacked former Mahsrashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, saying he had taken the state back by 20 years. He also accused Deshmukh and Ahmed Patel of corruption.
"Congress leaders like Vilasrao Deshmukh and Ahmed Patel were involved in scams of Videocon, Hudco, MHADA, MIDC among others," he said.
"I had 48 supporters in assembly, by number I should have won. If the decision was later attributed to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, why did they ask MLAs for opinion in first place," he demaded.
Meanwhile, decision to suspend Rane comes a day after he attacked outgoing Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and chief minister-designate Ashok Chavan, as well as the party, at a hurriedly convened media briefing at his residence.
"It has been observed that after the announcement of the new leader of the CLP in Maharashtra, Narayan Rane is making public statements deliberately with a view to lowering the prestige of the Indian National Congress," said AICC General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi.
"The party has taken a serious view of his utterances and considering this as a case of gross indiscipline, Narayan Rane has been suspended from the party with immediate effect," he said in a statement hours before Rane was scheduled to hold a press conference in Mumbai on Saturday.
Rane, whose name was being considered for the top post after Deshmukh resigned on Wednesday in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, opted out of the race after the party leadership selected Industry Minister Ashok Chavan for the top job.
http://ibnlive.in.com/printpage.php?id=79883§ion_id=3
Rane, who was overlooked by the party high command in favour Ashok Chavan [Images] for Chief Ministership, had attacked the Congress leadership yesterday accusing it of reneging on a promise to make him the chief minister.
"I don't trust even Sonia Gandhi anymore", he said which party sources said was the trigger for his suspension.
Rane, a leader from the Konkan area who had left Shiv Sena three years ago, had attacked not only Deshmukh but also Ashok Chavan and some central leaders and accused them of conspiring and ignoring his claim for the top job in the state.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/dec/06maharashtra-congress-suspends-narayan-rane.htm
Have lost faith in Sonia: Rane
6 Dec 2008, 0452 hrs IST, Prafulla Marpakwar, TNN
MUMBAI: A few hours before external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee declared Ashok Chavan as the state's new CM, revenue minister Narayan Rane raised a banner of revolt against the leadership of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, saying that he had lost confidence in the party high command.
Rane also launched a frontal attack on outgoing CM Vilasrao Deshmukh, MPCC president Manikrao Thakre and Mumbai Congress president Kripa Shankar Singh, saying that they were hand-in-gloves and that Deshmukh was a blot on Maharashtra politics. Rane didn't forget to predict that Congress would be wiped out in the coming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. ( Watch )
"When I joined Congress three years ago, I was promised the CM's post. On Thursday, when party observers were in the process of declaring me as the leader of the legislature party, there was some sudden pressure on them and they declared the new leader would be announced in Delhi. The entire exercise was a farce," Rane told reporters at his official residence on Friday.
Party insiders said Rane would quit Congress and float his own regional party with eight to 10 legislators. He said, "I have no plan to quit the party now but, sooner or later, I will have to take a decision. Congress is not a reliable organisation."
Rane made it clear that it wasn't possible for him to work under the leadership of Ashok Chavan as he was the "most incompetent politician". "No sensible politican will work under him and there is no question of my joining the cabinet," he said.
Deshmukh and Thakre summoned a section of Congress legislators to Varsha, the CM's official residence, when he emerged as a front-runner for the top post, Rane alleged. "My information is that a majority of legislators were in my favour. But Deshmukh and Thakre told them that they would be denied party tickets if they did not vote in Chavan's favour. So they voted in his favour in the presence of party observers," Rane said.
Deshmukh, however, reacted sharply to Rane's uncalled-for allegations. "I feel he is reacting like this because he is frustrated. All decisions on leadership issues is taken by the high command in Congress and there is no way I could have influenced the decision," he told TOI.
Once a firebrand Sena leader, Rane quit the party after his differences with Sena executive president Udhav Thackeray and joined Congress. Rane claimed that he was promised the CM's post — "in reasonable time" — when he joined the party but the Congress high command has maintained no such promise was made to him.
The main worry for Congress now is the political fallout of Rane's anger. "He was never with the party in the real sense though he joined Congress as he was all along aiming for the chief minister's post. We don't think his quitting the party will have any impact," a senior Congress leader said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3799718,prtpage-1.cms
I can topple Chavan govt if I wish to: Rane
Mumbai (PTI): Suspended Congress leader Narayan Rane today claimed that he holds key to the survival of soon-to-be-formed Ashok Chavan led Congress-NCP Government in Maharashtra.
"If I wish, I can prevent the new government from taking charge or topple it when it is formed. The new government is not in a majority and I can prove it on the floor of the house, even if the opposition does not demand a trust vote," Rane, who was suspended for his latest utterances against the party after he lost in the chief ministerial race, told a press conference here.
Rane refused to divulge his future course of action when the winter session of the legislature would be convened in Nagpur this month.
"I will be going to Nagpur," he said.
He said he could provide a letter of 30 MLAs to the Governor saying that they were not supporting the new government.
"I am refraining from doing this because the prevailing situation in the aftermath of terror attacks in Mumbai is not right. I warn the Congress not to provoke me to take such a step," he added.
Referring to his suspension from the Congress, Rane said he had been expecting the action.
"I consider this as a good omen. In 1997, Vilasrao Deshmukh was suspended from the party for six years and in 1999 he became the chief minister," Rane added.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/001200812061831.htm
Sonia’s presence in Delhi is costing India dearly
Francois Gautier 2 Dec. 2008-12-06
Source: New Indian Express
In 1898, the French writer Emile Zola wrote an open letter to the then French president in the newspaper L’Aurore, titled j’accuse (‘I accuse’), where he accused the French government of anti- Semitism towards Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer unfairly condemned for treason.
Now it is time for the people of India to say openly that which many, including within the Congress, think secretly and may utter in the privacy of their chambers.It is not about Manmohan Singh, it is not even about Shivraj Patil, the fall guy; it is about that one person, the Eminence Grise of India. She who pulls all the strings, She whose shadow looms menacingly over so many, She who holds no portfolio, is just a simple elected MP, like 540 others, but rules like an empress.
Sometimes, one’s very physical presence at the top is enough to move things, to influence the course of events. One word from Her, a glance, a frown, are enough to put the whole heavy, inert, unwilling machinery of India’s bureaucracy and political system in full motion. Sometimes She need not say anything: in the true tradition of Bhakti, Her ministers, Her secretaries, interpret Her silences and rush to cater to Her western and Christian identity.
Nevertheless, she has said and acted enough so that one day she may stand accused on the pages of History for what she must have done to India.
I’accuse Sonia Gandhi as being responsible for the tragedy of Mumbai, having emasculated India’s intelligence agencies by stopping them from investigating terror attacks in the last four years, including the Mumbai train blasts. She has also neutralised the ATS by ordering them at all costs to ferret out ‘Hindu terrorism’, which if it exists, has wrought minuscule damage compared to what Islamic terror has done since 2004.
Did the US send a warning to India that there may be an attack on Mumbai and that the Taj would be one of the targets? Were these ignored because the ATS was too busy chasing Hindu ‘terrorists’ on Sonia’s orders? I accuse Sonia and her government of having made the NSG the laughing stock of the world. How many times did the NSG (who took ten hours to reach Mumbai) claim that it had “sanitised the Taj and that the operation was over” and how many times did a bomb go off immediately after? For the last 20 years, the NSG has guarded VIPs and has become soft. See the comments of Israeli terror specialists, who said the NSG should have first sanitised the immediate surroundings of the places of conflict, kept the bystanders and press (who gave terrorists watching TV in the Taj rooms a perfect report of the security forces’ whereabouts) out of the place, gathered enough information about the position of the terrorists and hostages before taking action, instead of immediately engaging the terrorists, and ensuring the deaths of so many hostages.
I accuse Sonia of having let her Christian and Western background, in four years, divide India on religious and caste lines in a cynical and methodical manner.
I accuse Sonia of weakening India’s spirit of sacrifice and courage, so that 20 terrorists (or less) held at ransom the financial capital of India for more than three days.
I accuse Sonia Gandhi of always pointing the finger at Pakistan, when terrorism in India is now mostly homegrown, even if it takes help, training, refuge and arms from Pakistan; of not warning Indians of the grave dangers of Islamic terror for cynical election purposes.
I accuse Sonia of being an enemy of the Hindus, who always gave refuge to persecuted minorities, and who are the only people in the world to accept that God may manifest under different names, in different epochs, using different scriptures.
I accuse Sonia Gandhi of taking advantage of India’s respect for women, its undue fascination with the Gandhi name, and its stupid mania for White Skin.
I’accuse Sonia of exploiting the Indian Press’ obsession with her. She hardly ever gave interview in 20 years, except scripted ones to NDTV, yet the Press always protects her, never blames her and keeps silent over her covert role.
I’accuse Sonia and her government of trying to make heroes of subservient and inefficient men to hide the humiliation of Mumbai 26/11. Before going to his death, Hemant Karkare, the ATS chief, was shown on television clumsily handling his helmet, as someone who uses it very rarely. Why did he die of bullet wounds in the chest when he was wearing a bullet-proof vest? Either Indian vests are inferior quality or he was not wearing one.
How did the terrorists who killed him and his fellow officer escape in the same vehicle used by the ATS chief ? Why did he and his officers go into Cama Hospital without ascertaining where the terrorists were? We honour his death, but these facts say a lot about the ATS’ battle-readiness.
Will someone in the Congress, someone who feels more Indian than faithful to Sonia, stand up and speak the truth? Who said, “Go after Hindu terrorists”? Who insisted on putting pressure on BJP governments in Karnataka or Orissa for so-called persecution of Christians, when Christians have always practised their faith in total freedom here, while their missionaries are converting hundreds of thousands of innocent tribals and Dalits with the billions of dollars given by gullible westerners? Who said, “Go soft on Islamic terrorism”? Who wants to do away with India’s nuclear deterrence in the face of Pakistani and Chinese nuclear threats, by pushing at all costs the one sided Indo-US nuclear deal, which makes no secret of its intention to denuclearise India militarily? I am sure Sonia Gandhi has good qualities: she probably was a good wife to Rajiv, a good daughter in law to Indira and by all accounts, she is a good mother to her children. One also hears first-hand reports about her concern for smaller people, her dignity in the suffering that befell her when her husband was blown to pieces, and her courtesy with visitors.
Nevertheless, she is a danger to India.
Her very presence, both physical and occult, open the doors to forces inimical to India. Even Indian Christians should understand that she is not a gift to them: her presence at the top has emboldened fanatics like John Dayal or Valson Thampu, who practise an orthodox Christianity prevalent in the West in the early 20th century, but no longer, to radicalise their flock. Indian Christians should recognise that they have a much better deal here than Christians or Hindus have in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia or Saudi Arabia.
Under Sonia’s rule, Indian Muslims, too, have been used as electoral pawns. They have been encouraged to shun the Sufi streak, a blend of the best of Islam and Vedanta, for a hard-line Sunni brand imported from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
For the good of India, her civilisation, her immense spirituality and culture, Sonia Gandhi has to go and a government that thinks Indian, breathes nationalism and will protect its citizens must be voted to power.
http://francoisgautier.wordpress.com/
http://sites.google.com/site/hindunow/mumbai-s-9-11--islamist-jehadi-terror
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/print.aspx?artid=LNnjswClsuc=
http://www.india-forum.com/indian_politics/200.html Disband Congress, said Gandhi. Act on the guidance 2 Oct. 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Tibet: How trustworthy is China? -- B. Raman
Tibet: How Trustworthy is China?
B.Raman, C3S Paper No.231 dated November 24, 2008
(To be read in continuation of my article of November 3,2008, titled TIBET: ‘STATUS QUO PLUS’ AS AN OPTION? available at http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers30/paper2913.html )
How trustworthy is China on Tibet? Do the words, promises and commitments of its leaders have any value? What are the options available to the Tibetan people in dealing with an economic power, which the international community is not prepared to displease because of the perceived dependence on Chinese co-operation for re-stabilising the global economy? Are the Tibetan people condemned to extinction, with neither India nor the West prepared to support their cause for autonomy? What after the Dalai Lama? Will his death also mean the death of the Tibetan cause?
2. These were the questions and concerns that were uppermost in the minds of 560 prominent Tibetan personalities from the Tibetan diaspora in India and the rest of the world, who participated in a Special General Meeting convened by His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh ” to hold an extensive discussion and debate with regard to the Tibetan cause in the light of recent emergency events in Tibet and the international scenario.”
3. His Holiness himself did not attend the meeting, which was held from November 17 to 22,2008.The meeting was held against the background of the ruthless crushing of the uprising in the Tibetan majority areas of China in March and April last by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the failure of the resumed dialogue between the Chinese authorities and the representatives of His Holiness to find a way forward for meeting the aspirations of the Tibetan people. The Chinese had agreed to the resumption of the dialogue earlier stalled by them under international pressure after the uprising. The two meetings held in China by visiting representatives of His Holiness made it apparent that the Chinese were merely buying time in order to prevent a boycott of the Olympics by world leaders.
4. Hopes that after the Olympics, the Chinese leaders would adopt a softer line on the future of Tibet have been belied. There was one meeting before the Olympics and one after the Olympics. The meeting held after the Olympics ( 8th round from October 30 to November 5, 2008) made it painfully clear that the Chinese stance has further hardened. During the seventh round of talks in Beijing on July 1 and 2, 2008, the Vice Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and the Minister of the Central United Front Work Department, Mr. Du Qinglin, invited suggestions from His Holiness for the stability and development of Tibet. The Executive Vice Minister of the Central United Front Work Department, Mr. Zhu Weiqun, further said they would like to hear the views of the Dalai Lama’s representatives on the degree or form of autonomy they were seeking as well as on all aspects of regional autonomy within the scope of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In response to the Chinese request, the Dalai Lama’s team, which, as before, consisted of Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen submitted to their Chinese interlocutors during the 8th round a Memorandum outlining the position of His Holiness on the autonomy issue. To their surprise, the Chinese contemptuously rejected the Memo and refused to discuss the issue of autonomy. A summary of the Memo as released by the Tibetan delegation is annexed.
5.The hardening of the Chinese stance after the Olympics can be attributed to the following reasons:
Firstly, the manner in which France and other Western countries eased their pressure on the human rights issue after the Chinese people threatened to boycott Western goods made Beijing realise the power of the economic card which it now wields against the West.
Secondly, the economic melt-down in the West and its anxiety to secure Chinese co-operation and assistance for re-stabilising the global economy made it even more unlikely than in the past that the West would extend any concrete support to the Tibetan cause apart from pro forma lip sympathy.
Thirdly, speculation about health problems faced by the Dalai Lama made them feel that it was only a question of time before he disappeared from the scene and that once he is dead they can have a Dalai Lama of their choice nominated and sound the death-knell of the Tibetan cause.
6. The Tibetans have been shocked by the Chinese repudiation of a commiment made by Deng Xiao-ping on March 12,1979, that “apart from independence, all other issues can be discussed.” He gave this solemn assurance during a meeting with Kasur Gyalo Thondup, the elder brother of His Holiness. While replying to a Japanese correspondent in Beijing on November 10,2008, Zhu Weiqun asserted that Deng had never made such a statement. He said: “ It is a falsehood made by Gyari and is a complete distortion of Deng Xiaoping’s statement.”
7. Taken aback by this denial which came on the eve of the Special General meeting, Gyalo Thondup addressed the international media, which had assembled at Dharamsala, on November 19,2008, to give his version. To quote him: “I am shocked to hear such a statement from the Chinese officials because it was myself to whom the late paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, said, “except independence all other issues can be settled through discussions,”.Deng Xiaoping is no longer with us today. But to put the record straight I would like to clarify in front of international media that during my first visit to China in 1979 I met the paramount leader Deng Xiaoping on 12 March 1979. He told me “except independence all other issues can be settled through discussions.”
8. Juchen Thubten Namgyal, who also addressed the press conference, said: “I am totally surprised to learn that Mr Zhu Weiqun recently denied Deng Xiaoping’s statement. As a member of the first Tibetan exploratory mission, we met with Vice-premier Yang Jireng, who was also the head of the Central United Front Work Department and Nationality Affairs Commission and others on 29 April 1982. I sought confirmation from Yang Jireng whether Deng Xiaoping had made such a statement. He did not deny this fact.”
9. According to the advisers of His Holiness,on March 1,1979, Ulanfu, Minister for Nationality Affairs Commission, told Gyalo Thondup: “ The Dalai Lama and the Tibetans in exile are welcome to return to their home and contribute towards the development and progress of the nation. Suitable arrangements could be made for everyone upon their return. The Dalai Lama had not made contacts with the Soviet Union. Therefore, apart from independence, we can solve any problem.”
10. The advisers of His Holiness pointed out that a record of statements made by former Chinese leaders and official documents authenticated the statement made by Deng and Ulanfu. In an interview with the Xinhua News agency on May 19,1991, China’s then Premier Li Peng said: “All matters except Tibetan independence could be discussed”. His statement was later emphasised in a newsletter released by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Washington DC, regarding the “Questions concerning negotiations between the Central Government of China and the Dalai Lama.”
11. According to the advisers, during a state visit to China from May 18 to 23, 1992, the then Indian President R Venkataraman was told by Premier Li Peng that “ … we are willing to talk to him about anything except the issue of the so-called independence of Tibet.” A White Paper released by the Information office of the State Council of the PRC in September 1992 reiterated that “all matters except Tibetan independence can be discussed”.
12. Gyalo Thondup told the media: “Some hardliner communist officials, who hold high up position in the Chinese Government, treat Tibet as a personal belonging in their pocket and deliberately intend to scuttle the dialogue process to resolve the issue of Tibet.
The Tibetan people will continue to demand their legitimate and reasonable rights as given to other minority nationalities entitled in the constitution of the People’s Republic of China.The legitimate rights of Tibetans are rights to freedom, thinking, speech, religion, travel, to promote and preserve Tibet’s culture. We must not lose faith and plead to the Chinese Government for our legitimate rights.As a Tibetan, I’m convinced that we must all live together. Therefore it is very important for the Tibetan people not to lose hope and to keep a good relationship with people in China. We are sandwiched between China and India, both very important countries. I was always critical with the Chinese face to face in Beijing, and now I’m desperate, that’s why I told people in the Chinese Embassy in Delhi that there’s no choice [but to talk]. We must face the reality that we have to deal with China. The people of China will eventually realize that what we are asking is legitimate.”
13.A commentary on Tibet disseminated by the official Xinhua news agency on November 21,2008, coinciding with the meeting, said: ” Its purpose is to set up a ‘half independent’ or ‘covertly independent’ political entity controlled by the Dalai clique on one quarter of the Chinese territory.And when conditions are ripe, they will seek to realise ‘complete Tibet independence’.” Qin Gang, a spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, was quoted as saying as follows: “Our position on Tibet is clear and resolute. Any attempt to separate Tibet from China is doomed to fail.The so-called Tibetan government-in-exile is not recognised by any government in the world.”
14. In the light of the Chinese repudiation of their past commitments and statements, the Special General Meeting discussed whether any useful purpose would be served by continuing with the dialogue with the Chinese and whether the time had not come to call off the dialogue with the Chinese officials, abandon the Middle Path of autonomy so far followed and start a full-fledged struggle for independence. This view is particularly shared by the younger Tibetans belonging to the Tibetan Youth Congress. A question posed by many during the discussions was: When the Chinese are not even prepared to discuss autonomy, what is the point in continuing the dialogue with them?
15. There was unanimity against accepting the status quo. The meeting reiterated its faith in the continuing leadership of His Holiness and decided to continue with the present objective of a Middle Path. It also stressed that the Tibetans would continue to adhere to non-violence. The relevant portions from the final summary of conclusions of the meeting are given below:
(a). “The Central Tibetan Administration is the sole and legitimate representative of the Tibetans in and outside Tibet, which the CTA has inherited from many centuries. This historical experience of the Tibetan people proves the baselessness of the recent rhetoric and propaganda of the Chinese Government, which says that His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration have no right to represent Tibet and the Tibetan people. The Tibetans in and outside Tibet strongly oppose such remarks.”
(b).”Based on the suggestions received to this Special General Meeting from in and outside Tibet and after frank and candid discussions held by the delegates in regard to the future policy of Tibet, it came to an unanimous decision to straightly follow the guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama based on the prevailing situation from time to time. Majority decision was to continue the policy of Middle-Way-Approach. Besides that, looking at the Chinese Government’s behavior in the past, views to stop sending envoys and to pursue complete independence or self-determination if no result comes out in the near future, were also strongly expressed.”
(c).”The Middle-Way-Approach, independence or self-determination, whatever is pursued in the Tibetan struggle, we shall not deviate from the path of non-violence to achieve our aims.”
(d).”His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration in an effort to resolve the Sino-Tibetan problem, by adopting the Middle-Way-Approach, a memorandum on genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people, within the framework of the constitution of the PRC, was recently presented to the Chinese Government. Leave alone giving positive response, the PRC Government rejected every single clause of the memorandum and accused the CTA of seeking independence, semi-independence or independence in disguised form. Therefore, the dialogue process did not produce any substantive result to the Sino-Tibetan problem and the whole responsibility of this failure is solely with the PRC government.”
(e). “Because the PRC had alleged that they have evidence to prove that the recent unrest in Tibet had been ‘triggered, instigated, planned and orchestrated’ by the ‘Dalai clique’, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration insisted that an international investigating body be allowed to travel to Tibet to verify the PRC’s claims. And that delegates from China can also visit Dharamsala to investigate and validate their allegation. However, the PRC did not have the gumption to accept both these suggestions. Moreover, the PRC could not even bring forth one single evidence in support of their claims before the world audience. This has clearly pointed to the fact that demonstrations and protests in Tibet since March this year are because of the repressive policies adopted by the PRC towards Tibet and Tibetans since its occupation. Therefore, the PRC government should accept responsibilities for their mistakes.”
(f).”This is to reiterate, through this Special General Meeting, that the cause of the Tibetan struggle is a struggle for the rights of Tibetans. It is a struggle against the wrong policies of the PRC towards Tibet and Tibetans. The Tibetan struggle is in no way against the Chinese people, as it is being portrayed by the PRC.”
(g).”In order to destroy Tibetan Buddhism, the PRC instituted new regulations on measures for the recognition of incarnate lamas or ‘Living Buddhas’. We totally oppose any interference by a Government which is avowedly atheist in spiritual affairs for political advantage. We strongly oppose the ‘Patriotic Education’ campaign that is being increasingly forced down in various monasteries in Tibet.”
16. It is not clear whether His Holiness would take the initiative for another round of talks with the Chinese. The position seems to be that while the doors are open for more talks, the initiative has to come from the Chinese. It needs to be noted that the post-Olympics hardening of the Chinese stand on Tibet has been accompanied by what seems to be a post-Olympics hardening of the Chinese position on the Sino-Indian border talks during which the Chinese continue to insist on the transfer of at least Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh to China. It is understood that the Dalai Lama proposes to hold a meeting of the international well-wishers of the Tibetan cause to brief them on the deliberations of the Special General Meeting, which was restricted to Tibetans and seek their views.
(The writer, Mr B.Raman, is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. He is also associated with the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
ANNEXURE
SUMMARY OF THE MEMORANDUM
The Constitution of the PRC contains fundamental principles on autonomy and self-government whose objectives are compatible with the needs and aspirations of the Tibetans. Regional national autonomy is aimed at opposing both the oppression and the separation of nationalities by rejecting both Han chauvinism and local nationalism. It is intended to ensure the protection of the culture and the identity of minority nationalities by empowering them to become masters of their own affairs.
To a very considerable extent Tibetan needs can be met within the constitutional principles on autonomy. On several points, the Constitution gives significant discretionary powers to state organs in decision-making and on the operation of the system of autonomy. These discretionary powers can be exercised to facilitate genuine autonomy for Tibetans in ways that would respond to the uniqueness of the Tibetan situation. Given good will on both sides, outstanding problems can be resolved within the constitutional principles on autonomy. In this way national unity and stability and harmonious relations between the Tibetan and other nationalities will be established.
TIBETAN ASPIRATIONS
Tibetans have a rich and distinct history, culture and spiritual tradition all of which form valuable parts of the heritage of humanity. Not only do Tibetans wish to preserve their own heritage, which they cherish, but equally they wish to further develop their culture and spiritual life and knowledge in ways that are particularly suited to the needs and conditions of humanity in the 21st century.
As a part of the multi-national state of the PRC, Tibetans can benefit greatly from the rapid economic and scientific development the country is experiencing. While wanting to actively participate and contribute to this development, we want to ensure that this happens without the people losing their Tibetan identity, culture and core values and without putting the distinct and fragile environment of the Tibetan plateau, to which Tibetans are indigenous, at risk.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s commitment to seek a solution for the Tibetan people within the PRC is clear and unambiguous. This position is in full compliance and agreement with paramount leader Deng Xiaoping’s statement in which he emphasised that except for independence all other issues could be resolved through dialogue. Whereas, we are committed, therefore, to fully respect the territorial integrity of the PRC, we expect the Central Government to recognise and fully respect the integrity of the Tibetan nationality and its right to exercise genuine autonomy within the PRC. We believe that this is the basis for resolving the differences between us and promoting unity, stability and harmony among nationalities.
BASIC NEEDS OF TIBETANS
Subject Matters of Self-government
1) Language
2) Culture
3) Religion
4) Education
5) Environmental Protection
6) Utilisation of Natural Resources
7) Economic Development and Trade
Public health
9) Public Security
10) Regulation on population migration
11) Cultural, educational and religious exchanges with other countries
RESPECT FOR THE INTEGRITY OF THE TIBETAN NATIONALITY
Tibetans belong to one minority nationality regardless of the current administrative divisions. The integrity of the Tibetan nationality must be respected. That is the spirit, the intent and the principle underlying the constitutional concept of national regional autonomy as well as the principle of equality of nationalities.
There is no dispute about the fact that Tibetans share the same language, culture, spiritual tradition, core values and customs, that they belong to the same ethnic group and that they have a strong sense of common identity. Tibetans share a common history and despite periods of political or administrative divisions, Tibetans continuously remained united by their religion, culture, education, language, way of life and by their unique high plateau environment.
The Tibetan nationality lives in one contiguous area on the Tibetan plateau, which they have inhabited for millennia and to which they are therefore indigenous. For purposes of the constitutional principles of national regional autonomy Tibetans in the PRC in fact live as a single nationality all over the Tibetan plateau.
In order for the Tibetan nationality to develop and flourish with its distinct identity, culture and spiritual tradition through the exercise of self-government on the above mentioned basic Tibetan needs, the entire community, comprising all the areas currently designated by the PRC as Tibetan autonomous areas, should be under one single administrative entity. The current administrative divisions, by which Tibetan communities are ruled and administered under different provinces and regions of the PRC, foments fragmentation, promotes unequal development, and weakens the ability of the Tibetan nationality to protect and promote its common cultural, spiritual and ethnic identity. Rather than respecting the integrity of the nationality, this policy promotes its fragmentation and disregards the spirit of autonomy.
THE NATURE AND STRUCTURE OF THE AUTONOMY
The exercise of genuine autonomy would include the right of Tibetans to create their own regional government and government institutions and processes that are best suited to their needs and characteristics. It would require that the People’s Congress of the autonomous region have the power to legislate on all matters within the competencies of the region and that other organs of the autonomous government have the power to execute and administer decisions autonomously. Autonomy also entails representation and meaningful participation in national decision-making in the Central Government. Processes for effective consultation and close cooperation or joint decision-making between the Central Government and the regional government on areas of common interest also need to be in place for the autonomy to be effective.
A crucial element of genuine autonomy is the guarantee the Constitution or other laws provide that powers and responsibilities allocated to the autonomous region cannot be unilaterally abrogated or changed. This means that neither the Central Government nor the autonomous region’s government should be able, without the consent of the other, to change the basic features of the autonomy.
Implementation of genuine autonomy, for example, requires clear divisions of powers and responsibilities between the Central Government and the government of the autonomous region with respect to subject matter competency. Currently there is no such clarity and the scope of legislative powers of autonomous regions is both uncertain and severely restricted. Thus, whereas the Constitution intends to recognise the special need for autonomous regions to legislate on many matters that affect them, the requirements of Article 116 for prior approval at the highest level of the Central Government - by the Standing Committee of National People’s Congress (NPC) - inhibit the implementation of this principle of autonomy. In reality, it is only autonomous regional congresses that expressly require such approval, while the congresses of ordinary (not autonomous) provinces of the PRC do not need prior permission and merely report the passage of regulations to the Standing Committee of the NPC “for the record” (Article 100).
The exercise of autonomy is further subject to a considerable number of laws and regulations, according to Article 115 of the Constitution. Certain laws effectively restrict the autonomy of the autonomous region, while others are not always consistent with one another. The result is that the exact scope of the autonomy is unclear and is not fixed, since it is unilaterally changed with the enactment of laws and regulations at higher levels of the state, and even by changes in policy. There is also no adequate process for consultation or for settling differences that arise between the organs of the Central Government and of the regional government with respect to the scope and exercise of autonomy. In practice, the resulting uncertainty limits the initiative of regional authorities and impedes the exercise of genuine autonomy by Tibetans today.
http://www.c3sindia.org/tibet/422
B.Raman, C3S Paper No.231 dated November 24, 2008
(To be read in continuation of my article of November 3,2008, titled TIBET: ‘STATUS QUO PLUS’ AS AN OPTION? available at http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers30/paper2913.html )
How trustworthy is China on Tibet? Do the words, promises and commitments of its leaders have any value? What are the options available to the Tibetan people in dealing with an economic power, which the international community is not prepared to displease because of the perceived dependence on Chinese co-operation for re-stabilising the global economy? Are the Tibetan people condemned to extinction, with neither India nor the West prepared to support their cause for autonomy? What after the Dalai Lama? Will his death also mean the death of the Tibetan cause?
2. These were the questions and concerns that were uppermost in the minds of 560 prominent Tibetan personalities from the Tibetan diaspora in India and the rest of the world, who participated in a Special General Meeting convened by His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh ” to hold an extensive discussion and debate with regard to the Tibetan cause in the light of recent emergency events in Tibet and the international scenario.”
3. His Holiness himself did not attend the meeting, which was held from November 17 to 22,2008.The meeting was held against the background of the ruthless crushing of the uprising in the Tibetan majority areas of China in March and April last by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the failure of the resumed dialogue between the Chinese authorities and the representatives of His Holiness to find a way forward for meeting the aspirations of the Tibetan people. The Chinese had agreed to the resumption of the dialogue earlier stalled by them under international pressure after the uprising. The two meetings held in China by visiting representatives of His Holiness made it apparent that the Chinese were merely buying time in order to prevent a boycott of the Olympics by world leaders.
4. Hopes that after the Olympics, the Chinese leaders would adopt a softer line on the future of Tibet have been belied. There was one meeting before the Olympics and one after the Olympics. The meeting held after the Olympics ( 8th round from October 30 to November 5, 2008) made it painfully clear that the Chinese stance has further hardened. During the seventh round of talks in Beijing on July 1 and 2, 2008, the Vice Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and the Minister of the Central United Front Work Department, Mr. Du Qinglin, invited suggestions from His Holiness for the stability and development of Tibet. The Executive Vice Minister of the Central United Front Work Department, Mr. Zhu Weiqun, further said they would like to hear the views of the Dalai Lama’s representatives on the degree or form of autonomy they were seeking as well as on all aspects of regional autonomy within the scope of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). In response to the Chinese request, the Dalai Lama’s team, which, as before, consisted of Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen submitted to their Chinese interlocutors during the 8th round a Memorandum outlining the position of His Holiness on the autonomy issue. To their surprise, the Chinese contemptuously rejected the Memo and refused to discuss the issue of autonomy. A summary of the Memo as released by the Tibetan delegation is annexed.
5.The hardening of the Chinese stance after the Olympics can be attributed to the following reasons:
Firstly, the manner in which France and other Western countries eased their pressure on the human rights issue after the Chinese people threatened to boycott Western goods made Beijing realise the power of the economic card which it now wields against the West.
Secondly, the economic melt-down in the West and its anxiety to secure Chinese co-operation and assistance for re-stabilising the global economy made it even more unlikely than in the past that the West would extend any concrete support to the Tibetan cause apart from pro forma lip sympathy.
Thirdly, speculation about health problems faced by the Dalai Lama made them feel that it was only a question of time before he disappeared from the scene and that once he is dead they can have a Dalai Lama of their choice nominated and sound the death-knell of the Tibetan cause.
6. The Tibetans have been shocked by the Chinese repudiation of a commiment made by Deng Xiao-ping on March 12,1979, that “apart from independence, all other issues can be discussed.” He gave this solemn assurance during a meeting with Kasur Gyalo Thondup, the elder brother of His Holiness. While replying to a Japanese correspondent in Beijing on November 10,2008, Zhu Weiqun asserted that Deng had never made such a statement. He said: “ It is a falsehood made by Gyari and is a complete distortion of Deng Xiaoping’s statement.”
7. Taken aback by this denial which came on the eve of the Special General meeting, Gyalo Thondup addressed the international media, which had assembled at Dharamsala, on November 19,2008, to give his version. To quote him: “I am shocked to hear such a statement from the Chinese officials because it was myself to whom the late paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, said, “except independence all other issues can be settled through discussions,”.Deng Xiaoping is no longer with us today. But to put the record straight I would like to clarify in front of international media that during my first visit to China in 1979 I met the paramount leader Deng Xiaoping on 12 March 1979. He told me “except independence all other issues can be settled through discussions.”
8. Juchen Thubten Namgyal, who also addressed the press conference, said: “I am totally surprised to learn that Mr Zhu Weiqun recently denied Deng Xiaoping’s statement. As a member of the first Tibetan exploratory mission, we met with Vice-premier Yang Jireng, who was also the head of the Central United Front Work Department and Nationality Affairs Commission and others on 29 April 1982. I sought confirmation from Yang Jireng whether Deng Xiaoping had made such a statement. He did not deny this fact.”
9. According to the advisers of His Holiness,on March 1,1979, Ulanfu, Minister for Nationality Affairs Commission, told Gyalo Thondup: “ The Dalai Lama and the Tibetans in exile are welcome to return to their home and contribute towards the development and progress of the nation. Suitable arrangements could be made for everyone upon their return. The Dalai Lama had not made contacts with the Soviet Union. Therefore, apart from independence, we can solve any problem.”
10. The advisers of His Holiness pointed out that a record of statements made by former Chinese leaders and official documents authenticated the statement made by Deng and Ulanfu. In an interview with the Xinhua News agency on May 19,1991, China’s then Premier Li Peng said: “All matters except Tibetan independence could be discussed”. His statement was later emphasised in a newsletter released by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Washington DC, regarding the “Questions concerning negotiations between the Central Government of China and the Dalai Lama.”
11. According to the advisers, during a state visit to China from May 18 to 23, 1992, the then Indian President R Venkataraman was told by Premier Li Peng that “ … we are willing to talk to him about anything except the issue of the so-called independence of Tibet.” A White Paper released by the Information office of the State Council of the PRC in September 1992 reiterated that “all matters except Tibetan independence can be discussed”.
12. Gyalo Thondup told the media: “Some hardliner communist officials, who hold high up position in the Chinese Government, treat Tibet as a personal belonging in their pocket and deliberately intend to scuttle the dialogue process to resolve the issue of Tibet.
The Tibetan people will continue to demand their legitimate and reasonable rights as given to other minority nationalities entitled in the constitution of the People’s Republic of China.The legitimate rights of Tibetans are rights to freedom, thinking, speech, religion, travel, to promote and preserve Tibet’s culture. We must not lose faith and plead to the Chinese Government for our legitimate rights.As a Tibetan, I’m convinced that we must all live together. Therefore it is very important for the Tibetan people not to lose hope and to keep a good relationship with people in China. We are sandwiched between China and India, both very important countries. I was always critical with the Chinese face to face in Beijing, and now I’m desperate, that’s why I told people in the Chinese Embassy in Delhi that there’s no choice [but to talk]. We must face the reality that we have to deal with China. The people of China will eventually realize that what we are asking is legitimate.”
13.A commentary on Tibet disseminated by the official Xinhua news agency on November 21,2008, coinciding with the meeting, said: ” Its purpose is to set up a ‘half independent’ or ‘covertly independent’ political entity controlled by the Dalai clique on one quarter of the Chinese territory.And when conditions are ripe, they will seek to realise ‘complete Tibet independence’.” Qin Gang, a spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, was quoted as saying as follows: “Our position on Tibet is clear and resolute. Any attempt to separate Tibet from China is doomed to fail.The so-called Tibetan government-in-exile is not recognised by any government in the world.”
14. In the light of the Chinese repudiation of their past commitments and statements, the Special General Meeting discussed whether any useful purpose would be served by continuing with the dialogue with the Chinese and whether the time had not come to call off the dialogue with the Chinese officials, abandon the Middle Path of autonomy so far followed and start a full-fledged struggle for independence. This view is particularly shared by the younger Tibetans belonging to the Tibetan Youth Congress. A question posed by many during the discussions was: When the Chinese are not even prepared to discuss autonomy, what is the point in continuing the dialogue with them?
15. There was unanimity against accepting the status quo. The meeting reiterated its faith in the continuing leadership of His Holiness and decided to continue with the present objective of a Middle Path. It also stressed that the Tibetans would continue to adhere to non-violence. The relevant portions from the final summary of conclusions of the meeting are given below:
(a). “The Central Tibetan Administration is the sole and legitimate representative of the Tibetans in and outside Tibet, which the CTA has inherited from many centuries. This historical experience of the Tibetan people proves the baselessness of the recent rhetoric and propaganda of the Chinese Government, which says that His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration have no right to represent Tibet and the Tibetan people. The Tibetans in and outside Tibet strongly oppose such remarks.”
(b).”Based on the suggestions received to this Special General Meeting from in and outside Tibet and after frank and candid discussions held by the delegates in regard to the future policy of Tibet, it came to an unanimous decision to straightly follow the guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama based on the prevailing situation from time to time. Majority decision was to continue the policy of Middle-Way-Approach. Besides that, looking at the Chinese Government’s behavior in the past, views to stop sending envoys and to pursue complete independence or self-determination if no result comes out in the near future, were also strongly expressed.”
(c).”The Middle-Way-Approach, independence or self-determination, whatever is pursued in the Tibetan struggle, we shall not deviate from the path of non-violence to achieve our aims.”
(d).”His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration in an effort to resolve the Sino-Tibetan problem, by adopting the Middle-Way-Approach, a memorandum on genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people, within the framework of the constitution of the PRC, was recently presented to the Chinese Government. Leave alone giving positive response, the PRC Government rejected every single clause of the memorandum and accused the CTA of seeking independence, semi-independence or independence in disguised form. Therefore, the dialogue process did not produce any substantive result to the Sino-Tibetan problem and the whole responsibility of this failure is solely with the PRC government.”
(e). “Because the PRC had alleged that they have evidence to prove that the recent unrest in Tibet had been ‘triggered, instigated, planned and orchestrated’ by the ‘Dalai clique’, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration insisted that an international investigating body be allowed to travel to Tibet to verify the PRC’s claims. And that delegates from China can also visit Dharamsala to investigate and validate their allegation. However, the PRC did not have the gumption to accept both these suggestions. Moreover, the PRC could not even bring forth one single evidence in support of their claims before the world audience. This has clearly pointed to the fact that demonstrations and protests in Tibet since March this year are because of the repressive policies adopted by the PRC towards Tibet and Tibetans since its occupation. Therefore, the PRC government should accept responsibilities for their mistakes.”
(f).”This is to reiterate, through this Special General Meeting, that the cause of the Tibetan struggle is a struggle for the rights of Tibetans. It is a struggle against the wrong policies of the PRC towards Tibet and Tibetans. The Tibetan struggle is in no way against the Chinese people, as it is being portrayed by the PRC.”
(g).”In order to destroy Tibetan Buddhism, the PRC instituted new regulations on measures for the recognition of incarnate lamas or ‘Living Buddhas’. We totally oppose any interference by a Government which is avowedly atheist in spiritual affairs for political advantage. We strongly oppose the ‘Patriotic Education’ campaign that is being increasingly forced down in various monasteries in Tibet.”
16. It is not clear whether His Holiness would take the initiative for another round of talks with the Chinese. The position seems to be that while the doors are open for more talks, the initiative has to come from the Chinese. It needs to be noted that the post-Olympics hardening of the Chinese stand on Tibet has been accompanied by what seems to be a post-Olympics hardening of the Chinese position on the Sino-Indian border talks during which the Chinese continue to insist on the transfer of at least Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh to China. It is understood that the Dalai Lama proposes to hold a meeting of the international well-wishers of the Tibetan cause to brief them on the deliberations of the Special General Meeting, which was restricted to Tibetans and seek their views.
(The writer, Mr B.Raman, is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. He is also associated with the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )
ANNEXURE
SUMMARY OF THE MEMORANDUM
The Constitution of the PRC contains fundamental principles on autonomy and self-government whose objectives are compatible with the needs and aspirations of the Tibetans. Regional national autonomy is aimed at opposing both the oppression and the separation of nationalities by rejecting both Han chauvinism and local nationalism. It is intended to ensure the protection of the culture and the identity of minority nationalities by empowering them to become masters of their own affairs.
To a very considerable extent Tibetan needs can be met within the constitutional principles on autonomy. On several points, the Constitution gives significant discretionary powers to state organs in decision-making and on the operation of the system of autonomy. These discretionary powers can be exercised to facilitate genuine autonomy for Tibetans in ways that would respond to the uniqueness of the Tibetan situation. Given good will on both sides, outstanding problems can be resolved within the constitutional principles on autonomy. In this way national unity and stability and harmonious relations between the Tibetan and other nationalities will be established.
TIBETAN ASPIRATIONS
Tibetans have a rich and distinct history, culture and spiritual tradition all of which form valuable parts of the heritage of humanity. Not only do Tibetans wish to preserve their own heritage, which they cherish, but equally they wish to further develop their culture and spiritual life and knowledge in ways that are particularly suited to the needs and conditions of humanity in the 21st century.
As a part of the multi-national state of the PRC, Tibetans can benefit greatly from the rapid economic and scientific development the country is experiencing. While wanting to actively participate and contribute to this development, we want to ensure that this happens without the people losing their Tibetan identity, culture and core values and without putting the distinct and fragile environment of the Tibetan plateau, to which Tibetans are indigenous, at risk.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s commitment to seek a solution for the Tibetan people within the PRC is clear and unambiguous. This position is in full compliance and agreement with paramount leader Deng Xiaoping’s statement in which he emphasised that except for independence all other issues could be resolved through dialogue. Whereas, we are committed, therefore, to fully respect the territorial integrity of the PRC, we expect the Central Government to recognise and fully respect the integrity of the Tibetan nationality and its right to exercise genuine autonomy within the PRC. We believe that this is the basis for resolving the differences between us and promoting unity, stability and harmony among nationalities.
BASIC NEEDS OF TIBETANS
Subject Matters of Self-government
1) Language
2) Culture
3) Religion
4) Education
5) Environmental Protection
6) Utilisation of Natural Resources
7) Economic Development and Trade
Public health
9) Public Security
10) Regulation on population migration
11) Cultural, educational and religious exchanges with other countries
RESPECT FOR THE INTEGRITY OF THE TIBETAN NATIONALITY
Tibetans belong to one minority nationality regardless of the current administrative divisions. The integrity of the Tibetan nationality must be respected. That is the spirit, the intent and the principle underlying the constitutional concept of national regional autonomy as well as the principle of equality of nationalities.
There is no dispute about the fact that Tibetans share the same language, culture, spiritual tradition, core values and customs, that they belong to the same ethnic group and that they have a strong sense of common identity. Tibetans share a common history and despite periods of political or administrative divisions, Tibetans continuously remained united by their religion, culture, education, language, way of life and by their unique high plateau environment.
The Tibetan nationality lives in one contiguous area on the Tibetan plateau, which they have inhabited for millennia and to which they are therefore indigenous. For purposes of the constitutional principles of national regional autonomy Tibetans in the PRC in fact live as a single nationality all over the Tibetan plateau.
In order for the Tibetan nationality to develop and flourish with its distinct identity, culture and spiritual tradition through the exercise of self-government on the above mentioned basic Tibetan needs, the entire community, comprising all the areas currently designated by the PRC as Tibetan autonomous areas, should be under one single administrative entity. The current administrative divisions, by which Tibetan communities are ruled and administered under different provinces and regions of the PRC, foments fragmentation, promotes unequal development, and weakens the ability of the Tibetan nationality to protect and promote its common cultural, spiritual and ethnic identity. Rather than respecting the integrity of the nationality, this policy promotes its fragmentation and disregards the spirit of autonomy.
THE NATURE AND STRUCTURE OF THE AUTONOMY
The exercise of genuine autonomy would include the right of Tibetans to create their own regional government and government institutions and processes that are best suited to their needs and characteristics. It would require that the People’s Congress of the autonomous region have the power to legislate on all matters within the competencies of the region and that other organs of the autonomous government have the power to execute and administer decisions autonomously. Autonomy also entails representation and meaningful participation in national decision-making in the Central Government. Processes for effective consultation and close cooperation or joint decision-making between the Central Government and the regional government on areas of common interest also need to be in place for the autonomy to be effective.
A crucial element of genuine autonomy is the guarantee the Constitution or other laws provide that powers and responsibilities allocated to the autonomous region cannot be unilaterally abrogated or changed. This means that neither the Central Government nor the autonomous region’s government should be able, without the consent of the other, to change the basic features of the autonomy.
Implementation of genuine autonomy, for example, requires clear divisions of powers and responsibilities between the Central Government and the government of the autonomous region with respect to subject matter competency. Currently there is no such clarity and the scope of legislative powers of autonomous regions is both uncertain and severely restricted. Thus, whereas the Constitution intends to recognise the special need for autonomous regions to legislate on many matters that affect them, the requirements of Article 116 for prior approval at the highest level of the Central Government - by the Standing Committee of National People’s Congress (NPC) - inhibit the implementation of this principle of autonomy. In reality, it is only autonomous regional congresses that expressly require such approval, while the congresses of ordinary (not autonomous) provinces of the PRC do not need prior permission and merely report the passage of regulations to the Standing Committee of the NPC “for the record” (Article 100).
The exercise of autonomy is further subject to a considerable number of laws and regulations, according to Article 115 of the Constitution. Certain laws effectively restrict the autonomy of the autonomous region, while others are not always consistent with one another. The result is that the exact scope of the autonomy is unclear and is not fixed, since it is unilaterally changed with the enactment of laws and regulations at higher levels of the state, and even by changes in policy. There is also no adequate process for consultation or for settling differences that arise between the organs of the Central Government and of the regional government with respect to the scope and exercise of autonomy. In practice, the resulting uncertainty limits the initiative of regional authorities and impedes the exercise of genuine autonomy by Tibetans today.
http://www.c3sindia.org/tibet/422
Friday, November 21, 2008
Arrest demanded of ATS officers for human rights violation: VHP
Lawyers' body to provide legal help to Malegaon accused
PTI | November 21, 2008 | 15:30 IST
Throwing its weight behind the Malegaon blast accused, including sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a group of advocates in Sonepat have set up a 17-member lawyers committee to provide legal assistance to them.
The Hindu Unification Movement Legal and Welfare Association will provide legal assistance to the sadhvi and other accused, according to Bhupeshwar Dayal Gaur, a founder-member of the association.
He said the Anti-Terrorist Squad of the Maharashtra police, which is conducting a probe into the September 29 blast, has already collected information about the association and he, too, was interrogated in Delhi recently.
Dayal alleged that he was pressurised by the ATS officials to not provide any legal assistance to Pragya and other accused.
He said that the members of the association were committed to providing free legal assistance to any Hindu who was harassed by police and falsely implicated in the criminal cases.
http://www.rediff.com///news/2008/nov/21atsmale-lawyers-body-to-provide-legal-help-to-malegaon-accused.htm
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: TCG Menon
Date: Fri, Nov 21, 2008 at 12:26 PM
Subject: A Study of Newspaper Reports on the Malegaon Blasts.
To: advanilk@sansad.nic.in, rajnath@sansad.nic.in, murli@sansad.nic.in, jaswant@sansad.nic.in, swamy39@gmail.com, swaraj@sansad.nic.in, ravis@sansad.nic.in, ysinha@sansad.nic.in, ashok.vhp@gmail.com, vkmalhotra_bjp@yahoo.co.in, cm@gujaratindia.com, drtogadiya@gmail.com
A study of newspaper reports on the Malegaon Bomb blast.
When ever there is a bomb blast, the Govt used to come out with a
theory of the ISI hand behind the blast. But in this particular
case it is directed to Hindu activists and the Indian Army. After
the Malegaon blast, many other bomb blasts took place in India. The
recent blasts in Assam are several times powerful and a number of
lives were lost. Recently two infiltrators had been shot dead by the
security personnel in Jammu & Kashmir. After searching their dead
bodies, it was revealed that they were from Kerala. The Kerala ATS
have arrested a number of persons recently in connection with the
above- reported incident The English TV news channels and the news
papers have not been giving any importance to these cases. The Kerala
ATS is not revealing any details and the media is also not interested
to publicize it. The Times Of India is using their news paper and TV
channel to spear- head the attack on Hindutva and publicize the day
to day 'progress' of the 'investigation' into the Malegaon bomb blast
case since the arrest of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur.
The Sadhvi has been arrested as the motor cycle used for planting
the bomb is registered in her name. This has been found from the last
four digits (0303) of the frame number of the motor cycle. It is also
reported that the remaining numbers are not legible. It seems
somebody purposely tried to disfigure the number plate beyond
recognition. These are punched numbers and they can be wiped out
easily if anyone wants to do so. In most of the cases the illegibility
is due to rusting/corrosion. Perhaps a few numbers got disfigured
due to the impact of the blast . Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur has
clearly stated in her affidavit that she had sold her motor cycle to
one Sunil Joshi of MP, with proper records. Particular details of the
affidavit is given below:-
. "I say that in Surat during the course of my interrogation with Mr
Sawant, I mentioned to him that the LML Freedom two wheeler once owned
by me was subsequently sold to one Sunil Joshi of Madhya Pradesh way
back in October, 2004 and that Mr Joshi had paid me Rs 24,000/- for
the same. I had also signed the necessary TT Form for RTO transfer in
October, 2004 itself. I categorically asserted to Mr Sawant that since
October, 2004 I had no control over the vehicle or its movements and
usage.
There is a report published in Times of India dt Nov 5th, which is
given below:-
"that Sunil Joshi to whom Sadhvi Pragya had given her LML Freedom
motor cycle that was subsequently used in the Malegaon blast, was
killed by suspected SIMI activist at Dewas in Madhya Pradesh in
December last year. The vehicle subsequently passed on to Ramji, who
used this it to trigger the attack in the weavers town last month."
ATS reported that Ramji is absconding. In that case, what about his
identity. Why is the ATS not publishing his photo or giving other
details of the person in the papers? Who gave the motor bike to him,
and when? Unless he is an imaginary figure, he will have a family,
relatives and friends. Since no such details have come out, in all
probability this Ramji is an imaginary character used to implicate
the arrested Army officers & Hindu spiritual leaders. It seems 'some
one' has seen the Sadhvi talking to Ramji. She was under illegal
detention, and then arrested and kept under police custody more than
13 days before producing her in the court As per the rule a woman
should not be arrested or kept under custody without women police. In
this case all rules have been violated.
In the case of Sister Abhaya murder case, recently CBI have arrested
two priests and a nun. After producing the accused before the Judicial
Magistrate and getting permission from the court they remanded them
for 14 days custody. The Court heard the argument of the Advocates
appearing for the accused. This did not happen in the Malegaon Blast
case, where Hindus were arrested and kept under illegal detention.
Why is it so? Is the Law different for Hindu accused persons?
I am quoting below what CBI said when the reporters asked many
questions. "Sharing the dias with DIG Kanthaswamy, SP Rajeevakshan and
DySP Nandakumar Nair, the joint director did not answer any queries
in detail or give details of the involvement of each of the accused in
Abhaya's killing. ""Wait for a month, we will give you all the
details," he repeated.
Whereas Mumbai ATS has been giving day to day report about Malegaon blast.
They are trying to implicate Lt Col Shri kant Purohit in all the
blasts which took place in this country, of which ATS have not got
any clue. First they told Lt Col Purohit got the RDX from Army. Army
is not a production unit to keep stock of RDX or any other
ingredients of the bomb.
"In Bengaluru, last week, the Army man categorically denied having
taken RDX from any source during his J&K stint. Questions in this
regard were repeated to him but each time he strongly denied that he
had any links to the RDX. He was cooperative and answered with
clarity, said sources.
Sources in the Army also said a Military Intelligence officer has no
access to explosives. "He is in mufti and his brief is to collect
intelligence on insurgency and anti-national activities. Also, the
Army does not use or store RDX," an official source said.
I am also furnishing below a few published reports -
" Purohit used to collect money for his activities and financial
transactions were through banks and hawala agencies. Police suspect
that some money was routed through Bangladesh, where Abhinav Bharat
sympathizers are active."
'Purohit fits into the description of bomb trainer.'
'The Maharastra police are now examining whether Lt Col Shrikant
Prasad Purohit arrested in connection with Malegaon blast was
involved in blasts in Parbhani, Jalna and Purna, as Sanjay Chaudhari
an accused in April 2006 Nanded blast case has referred to a person
called Mithun Chakravarthy. During narco- analysis test Chaudhari
said Chakravarthy who trained Nandel blast accused Himanshu
Vyankatesh Panse in bomb – making , had a beard, was tall and stoutly
built." The training programe was held in Shivagad in Pune , Purohit
's home town.
There are so many Army officers and others having beard, and are tall
and stout. If the ATS wanted to clarify this doubt, why did they not
conduct the identification parade before coming out with a story?
Their only aim is to damage the image of a patriotic Army officer.
Before coming out with such report they should have verified where he
was at the time of the bomb blast. Moreover, narco-analysis test is
not a valid proof in the court of law. ATS could not get any proof
after completing forensic test , psychological profile test and
polygraph test carried out on the Sadhvi and Purohit.
Despite the absence of any evidence to frame the accused, the ATS
told the press that Purohit is the master mind of Samjhauta Express
train blast. This was contradictory to the revelation from the
Forensic test that no RDX was used in the above bomb blast. When this
attempt also failed, ATS came up with a report that Purohit, has
arranged a revolver licence for his friend, Milind Datye from the
army quota with forged documents. The Pune ATS told the court they
received a complaint about this from Datye himself when he got
suspicion about the licence after Purohit's arrest in the blast.
Sudhakar Chaturvedi, national co-ordinator for Abhinav Bharat, was
arrested by the Matunga police on Nov 4 on charges of carrying an
illegal revolver and possessing a fake identity card of the Deolali
military cantonment.
In brief what do we understand from these reports?
This is a conspiracy by unscrupulous, anti- national elements to
damage the image of the Hindu organizations and Indian Army, by
implicating Hindu spiritual leaders and Army officers. Otherwise why
has the ATS not done any further investigation on how the motor cycle
got into the hands of one Ramji before arresting Sadhvi Pragya?
There is every possibility the conspirators killed Sunil Joshi to
implicate Sadhvi Pragya. How come ATS is silent on the reason for
killing Sunil Joshi? For investigating the above details, Ramji's
presence is not required. Sadhvi Pragya is said to be a great orator
. She must be having so many devotees . There is no rule that Army
people cannot keep in touch with any spiritual leader. The arrested
Major Ramesh Upadhyay(retd) said that he was very much impressed with
Sadhvi Pragya's speech. When they failed to establish any link with
RDX used in explosion, they are implicating the Army officer with
forgery of the documents and also questioning the working of Army
establishments. The last two reports are clearly indicating this.
Some how the Govt wants keep alive the case till the next general
election to please the 'minorities'. The imposition of the Maharashtra
Control of Organized Crime Act(MCOCA)on the accused persons without
any solid evidence, is proof enough of the Govt's active participation
in this conspiracy, which seems to have the involvement of the ISI
also.
T.C.Govindan,
Chennai.
Arrest demanded of ATS officers for human rights violation: VHP
VHP demands arrest of ATS officers for human rights violation
Express News Service Posted: Nov 19, 2008 at 0155 hrs
Ahmedabad, November 18 The Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Gujarat on Tuesday demanded the arrest of the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) officers interrogating Sadhvi Pragya Singh and eight other people in connection with the Malegaon blast, for “human rights violations.”
VHP General Secretary Praveen Togadia said in a statement that the ATS was torturing the sadhu-sadhvis and targeting Hindu religion. He also urged the judiciary to protect the human rights of all citizens.
The statement said that one of the Malegoan blast accused had told the Nasik court on November 17 that he was not allowed to meet either his lawyer or his family. Besides, the ATS was preventing three letters that he had written, to be sent out.
The statement added that Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur had told the court that she was tortured by the police.
Togadia threatened a nationwide stir if the Maharashtra government failed to address the human rights concerns of the accused.
http://www.expressindia.com/story_print.php?storyId=387666
NSA to brief Advani on Malegaon blast probe
21 Nov 2008, 0904 hrs IST, TIMES NEWS NETWORK & AGENCIES
NEW DELHI: Two days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called up BJP leader L K Advani in regard to his allegations about torture of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a key accused in the Malegaon blast case, National Security Advisor M K Naryanan will meet the BJP leader on Friday to discuss the ongoing ATS probe. ( Watch )
Intelligence Bureau Chief P C Haldar will also be present at the meeting, highly placed BJP sources said.
According to BJP sources, Advani forcefully took up the sadhvi's case on Tuesday when the PM called him up to offer to share details of the investigations into the Malegaon blast leading to the arrests of the sadhvi and Lt Colonel Shrikant Purohit.
"Have you gone through the affidavit filed by Pragya in the Nashik court where she has given details of how she was tortured and was kept in illegal detention for 16 days? I was outraged when I read the account and I am sure that you would feel the same," Advani is learnt to have told the PM.
The Leader of Opposition also strongly objected to the Malegaon case being called a case of Hindu terror.
"Before that, I had only objected to the expression `Hindu terror' for the Malegaon blast. My point was simple, we never used descriptions like Muslim terror or Sikh terror. Then why are we describing the Malegaon case as an act of Hindu terror," Advani is learnt to have told the PM, according to sources close to Advani.
Advani also used the conversation to rebut any suggestion that the BJP had reversed its stand on terrorism because of the "faith" of Malegaon suspects. "A terrorist is a terrorist. He has no religion. He is a criminal and should be treated as one," he told the PM.
Singh had called Advani just after he issued a strongly-worded statement attacking the "barbaric treatment" of the sadhvi by Maharashtra's anti-terrorism squad and against the backdrop BJP ratcheting up its protest against Malegaon arrests.
Singh had offered to send national security advisor M K Narayanan over to Advani to explain the details of the case, in what is seen as reflecting recognition on the government's part of the fallout that BJP's protests can have for the investigations into Malegaon and other suspected cases of `Hindu terror'.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3739632,prtpage-1.cms
Stavan Desai, Hindustan Times
Email Author
Mumbai, November 21, 2008
First Published: 00:26 IST(21/11/2008)
Last Updated: 09:57 IST(21/11/2008)
Hindu terror targets RSS
Members of Hindu right-wing organisation Abhinav Bharat, accused of carrying out the Malegaon blast, plotted to kill senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders who they thought weren’t doing enough for Hindutva, show investigation reports accessed exclusively by Hindustan Times.
At a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party has declared its support for the accused, who are being investigated by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), the probe report reveals a plan to kill RSS general secretary Mohan Bhagwat and senior leader Indraeesh, who manages the Rashtriya Muslim Manch, which attracts Muslims with a “nationalistic outlook”. The report is with the state Home Department, which has shared it with the Union Home Ministry and central intelligence agencies.
Data found on the laptop of Dayanand Pandey, alias Shankaracharya Sudhakar Dwivedi, who was arrested in Lucknow on November 12, verifies the report. Experts at the Forensic Science Laboratory in Kalina are examining the laptop.
The planned killings, the report said, were masterminded by S. Apte, a 70-year-old Pune-based RSS worker who was unhappy with the organisation’s functioning, along with Pandey, Major (retd) Ramesh Upadhyay and a leading Delhi-based doctor identified only as ‘Dr Singh’.
The ATS found that Apte and Pandey, the son of a retired sub-inspector of the Uttar Pradesh police, approached Lieutenant-Colonel Prasad Purohit for help in executing the plan. Apte also paid him Rs 10 lakh, said the report.
Purohit introduced a close aide, whose identity HT has withheld so as not to hinder investigations, to Apte to assist him.
In August, when the group learnt that Bhagwat and Indraeesh would be visiting Pune, “Apte showed [Purohit’s aide] around the various spots [suitable for the killings] in Pune” and they zeroed in on a couple.
Investigations also showed that “[Pandey] had arranged for a weapon”, a 9 mm foreign-made pistol, which was delivered to one of his followers “in Faridabad” when he and Apte first hatched the plot.
The ATS is investigating Apte, who is currently in Pune.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=a3ca5b7b-8161-4fc0-a935-ed0de020cc7b
Saffron unity: BJP, RSS, VHP join hands for elections
Divyamanu Chaudhry
CNN-IBN
FOR OR AGAINST: It is still not clear if LK Advani is in favour of Sadhvi or not.
New Delhi: Adversity seems to have brought the squabbling cousins in the Parivar together. The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh is sharing dias with the rabble rousing sadhus and sants (priests).
In Panipat, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) also known as the Sangh made it clear that it will make allegations of ‘Hindu terror’ an election issue. The RSS is planning an Amarnath type agitation on the Malegaon blasts investigations and the BJP will be lending support to it.
“There is a strong undercurrent and we need to mobilize especially after the Malegaon episode,” says RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav.
But it is still not clear if the BJP united on its support to the movement. The party president Rajnath Singh has been the most vociferous and visible face in support of the Sadhvi while National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s prime ministerial candidate LK Advani for once seems to be playing second fiddle.
“If someone is not sharing the dias it doesn’t make him any less Hindu,’ says BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
But the NDA allies don’t seem to be following them. It is an open secret that some like the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and Bharitya Janata Dal (BJD) don’t seem toeing the RSS line on this issue. They are restless and disassociating themselves from the campaign.
“Our main concern is the national agenda for governance and that is being followed by all in the NDA,” says BJP leader BJ Pande.
This open show of unity by the BJP, RSS and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) especially before the elections is a big thumbs up for the saffron brigade. After all the Ram Janmabhoomi movement played a big role in the party's success in the 1990's, now what really needs to be seen is that how much of all this actually translates into votes in the impending elections.
http://ibnlive.in.com/printpage.php?id=78372§ion_id=3
NO SMALL DIFFERENCE
- Hindu vigilante versus jihadi terrorist
Mukul Kesavan (Kolkata, The Telegraph, 20 Nov. 2008)
After the Bharatiya Janata Party’s denunciation of the authorities at Jamia Millia Islamia University for their decision to extend legal aid to two students arrested for suspected involvement in terrorist conspiracy, it is good to see the party belatedly embrace that civilized republican principle, the presumption of innocence. The arrest of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit for their alleged involvement in the explosions in Malegaon has, after some initial hesitation, spurred the party to affirm their innocence and offer the sadhvi the best legal representation available in the country. The anti-terrorist squad and its investigations of Thakur and Purohit for terrorist activity have been condemned by the spokespersons of the sangh parivar as politically motivated and unsound.
None of this is unreasonable. The accused are entitled to a fair trial and good lawyers are an indispensable part of due process; moreover, the tendency of the Indian police and its investigative agencies to feed newspapers and news channels with unreliable information and spurious breakthroughs in cases that are never resolved, leads to an understandable scepticism about their claims. The BJP is also right in taking exception to the term ‘Hindu terrorism’; even if Thakur and Purohit were to be found guilty, no connection between being Hindu and being terrorist would follow from their guilt. In the event of their conviction, the proper term for their activities would be ‘Hindutva-vaditerror’: to assimilate a large and law-abiding community to the violence of bigots would be unjust.
The BJP is also right in arguing that members of India’s armed forces should not be carelessly implicated by police agencies in something as serious as terrorism. Not because soldiers should be seen to be above the law or be privileged by it, but because the political neutrality of the army is a precious asset and charging an officer with political extremism is a serious business, not to be lightly undertaken. The Indian army is a curious institution, built on pluralist ideas that are colonial rather than republican in their provenance. But in times of sectarian violence, it is often summoned to establish order because unlike the police, it is seen as a secular, apolitical force. So if the BJP’s affirmation of Purohit’s innocence ensures a thorough investigation and a fair trial, the party will have done all Indians a favour.
Equally, L.K. Advani’s condemnation of the ‘narco’ tests administered to the sadhvi (and the colonel) is consistent with the long-held position of human rights activists that forcing suspects to endure potentially dangerous chemical injections to induce legally worthless confessions is both barbaric and illegal. ‘Brain mapping’ and ‘narco testing’ are good examples of the ways in which Indian policemen use pseudo-scientific gimcrackery as a substitute for real police work.
So on these issues, every Indian who believes in the rule of law should endorse the BJP’s criticism of the ATS. The sadhvi’s allegations that she was beaten and tortured in police custody should be taken seriously. Advani’s demand that Thakur and Purohit be investigated by a judicial probe, and not by the ATS, ought to be given fair consideration. The fact that the BJP and its allies were pleased with the rough ‘justice’ meted out to the two men shot by the police in the Batla House ‘encounter’ and subsequently wanted Jamia’s students left indefinitely in police custody, unaided by the university to which they were affiliated, doesn’t in itself invalidate the importance of human rights and due process.
The real difficulty with the sangh parivar’s defence of Pragya Singh Thakur and Shrikant Purohit lies in the reasons its spokespersons adduce for their innocence. Praveen Togadia, the chief of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, made the Hindutva-vadi case without qualifications: “No Hindu can be a terrorist,” he declared. Asked if he knew the sadhvi, he said, “I do not know Pragya Singh at all. But I know she is not a terrorist.” For Togadia, Thakur’s birth identity was all the evidence he needed to know that the allegations against her were false. He told The Hindu as much: “Hindus will not forget this. They [the police and the Congress] are committing the sin of describing a Hindu, a ‘sadhvi’, as a terrorist… I warn that there will be a political backlash and the government will be swept out.”
Chandan Mitra, MP and editor of The Pioneer, made the same point more circumspectly. “Let the courts pronounce the ‘Hindu terrorists’ guilty,” he wrote in the Economic Times, “and, if so, let the verdicts be executed. But they cannot be pilloried on the basis of specious ‘confessions’, which could well be figments of a beleaguered ATS’s shaky imagination.” Aware that this might seem inconsistent with the sangh parivar’s enthusiasm for pillorying Muslims accused of terrorist conspiracy by anti-terrorist squads elsewhere, Mitra argued that Muslims accused of terrorism were a different matter. Muslims had form in the matter of terrorist conspiracy whereas Hindus didn’t. “Many SIMI and other jihadi terror mongers have already been brought to book and are being tried in courts. The most celebrated of the lot, Afzal Guru, has been found guilty by the Supreme Court and sentenced to death.”
One SIMI member, Yasin Patel, has been successfully prosecuted under a terrorism law. Three others were recently jailed for a year, not for terrorism but for stoking communal hatred. Even if there were to be a string of successful terror prosecutions against the SIMI, are we to understand that Mitra would have the police and the public withhold the presumption of innocence from Muslims in cases of terrorist conspiracy?
This is rather like arguing that once Hindus are convicted of terrorizing and murdering Muslims during the Gujarat pogroms, or slaughtering Sikhs in the Delhi pogrom of 1984, any Hindu accused of communal killing afterwards can be legitimately treated as guilty unless proven innocent, whereas Muslims and Sikhs charged with communal violence ought to continue to be given the benefit of the doubt.
In essence, there is no difference between Mitra’s position and Togadia’s. They both believe that Hindu violence can’t be described as terror because Hindus are victims. Victims can’t be perpetrators. So even if the ATS case against Thakur and Purohit is successfully prosecuted, even if they are guilty of organizing the explosions in Malegaon, they aren’t terrorists because all they’re doing is retaliating against jihadi violence. “Even if for a moment we accept that some Hindus have indulged in copycat acts,” writes Mitra, “it must be borne in mind that the majority of Indians are shocked, outraged, angry and even vengeful because of relentless terrorist depredations. Nearly 10,000 innocent people have died at the hands of bloodthirsty jihadi terrorists over the past 15 years.
“If some people, howsoever misguided, attempt to avenge this because the state fails to provide security or succour should it come as a big surprise? This is not to justify vigilante action, but only try and explain it.”
I’m not sure what form of words would constitute a watertight justification of vigilantism, but that last paragraph comes close. Then, in a remarkable move, Mitra holds out ‘Hindu’ involvement in the Malegaon blasts as a sinister portent: “If the state does not shed its hypocrisy the alleged Malegaon plot may only be the beginning.” So from the illegitimacy of the notion of “Hindu terror” we’ve arrived at the prospect of continuous ‘Hindu’ violence if the State dares to apply to Hindus the police methods it routinely uses against Muslims.
The difference between Indians who respect the republic’s Constitution and the majoritarian Right is this: constitutional democrats speak out against the police treatment of the sadhvi and the colonel because, as citizens of this republic, this nation of laws, they deserve every protection the law has to offer. The sangh parivar demands these protections because Thakur and Purohit are Hindu. This is not a small difference: it’s the difference between a civilized nation and a sectarian country, the difference, if you like, between India and Pakistan.
mukulkesavan@hotmail.com
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081120/jsp/opinion/story_10132969.jsp
PTI | November 21, 2008 | 15:30 IST
Throwing its weight behind the Malegaon blast accused, including sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a group of advocates in Sonepat have set up a 17-member lawyers committee to provide legal assistance to them.
The Hindu Unification Movement Legal and Welfare Association will provide legal assistance to the sadhvi and other accused, according to Bhupeshwar Dayal Gaur, a founder-member of the association.
He said the Anti-Terrorist Squad of the Maharashtra police, which is conducting a probe into the September 29 blast, has already collected information about the association and he, too, was interrogated in Delhi recently.
Dayal alleged that he was pressurised by the ATS officials to not provide any legal assistance to Pragya and other accused.
He said that the members of the association were committed to providing free legal assistance to any Hindu who was harassed by police and falsely implicated in the criminal cases.
http://www.rediff.com///news/2008/nov/21atsmale-lawyers-body-to-provide-legal-help-to-malegaon-accused.htm
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: TCG Menon
Date: Fri, Nov 21, 2008 at 12:26 PM
Subject: A Study of Newspaper Reports on the Malegaon Blasts.
To: advanilk@sansad.nic.in, rajnath@sansad.nic.in, murli@sansad.nic.in, jaswant@sansad.nic.in, swamy39@gmail.com, swaraj@sansad.nic.in, ravis@sansad.nic.in, ysinha@sansad.nic.in, ashok.vhp@gmail.com, vkmalhotra_bjp@yahoo.co.in, cm@gujaratindia.com, drtogadiya@gmail.com
A study of newspaper reports on the Malegaon Bomb blast.
When ever there is a bomb blast, the Govt used to come out with a
theory of the ISI hand behind the blast. But in this particular
case it is directed to Hindu activists and the Indian Army. After
the Malegaon blast, many other bomb blasts took place in India. The
recent blasts in Assam are several times powerful and a number of
lives were lost. Recently two infiltrators had been shot dead by the
security personnel in Jammu & Kashmir. After searching their dead
bodies, it was revealed that they were from Kerala. The Kerala ATS
have arrested a number of persons recently in connection with the
above- reported incident The English TV news channels and the news
papers have not been giving any importance to these cases. The Kerala
ATS is not revealing any details and the media is also not interested
to publicize it. The Times Of India is using their news paper and TV
channel to spear- head the attack on Hindutva and publicize the day
to day 'progress' of the 'investigation' into the Malegaon bomb blast
case since the arrest of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur.
The Sadhvi has been arrested as the motor cycle used for planting
the bomb is registered in her name. This has been found from the last
four digits (0303) of the frame number of the motor cycle. It is also
reported that the remaining numbers are not legible. It seems
somebody purposely tried to disfigure the number plate beyond
recognition. These are punched numbers and they can be wiped out
easily if anyone wants to do so. In most of the cases the illegibility
is due to rusting/corrosion. Perhaps a few numbers got disfigured
due to the impact of the blast . Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur has
clearly stated in her affidavit that she had sold her motor cycle to
one Sunil Joshi of MP, with proper records. Particular details of the
affidavit is given below:-
. "I say that in Surat during the course of my interrogation with Mr
Sawant, I mentioned to him that the LML Freedom two wheeler once owned
by me was subsequently sold to one Sunil Joshi of Madhya Pradesh way
back in October, 2004 and that Mr Joshi had paid me Rs 24,000/- for
the same. I had also signed the necessary TT Form for RTO transfer in
October, 2004 itself. I categorically asserted to Mr Sawant that since
October, 2004 I had no control over the vehicle or its movements and
usage.
There is a report published in Times of India dt Nov 5th, which is
given below:-
"that Sunil Joshi to whom Sadhvi Pragya had given her LML Freedom
motor cycle that was subsequently used in the Malegaon blast, was
killed by suspected SIMI activist at Dewas in Madhya Pradesh in
December last year. The vehicle subsequently passed on to Ramji, who
used this it to trigger the attack in the weavers town last month."
ATS reported that Ramji is absconding. In that case, what about his
identity. Why is the ATS not publishing his photo or giving other
details of the person in the papers? Who gave the motor bike to him,
and when? Unless he is an imaginary figure, he will have a family,
relatives and friends. Since no such details have come out, in all
probability this Ramji is an imaginary character used to implicate
the arrested Army officers & Hindu spiritual leaders. It seems 'some
one' has seen the Sadhvi talking to Ramji. She was under illegal
detention, and then arrested and kept under police custody more than
13 days before producing her in the court As per the rule a woman
should not be arrested or kept under custody without women police. In
this case all rules have been violated.
In the case of Sister Abhaya murder case, recently CBI have arrested
two priests and a nun. After producing the accused before the Judicial
Magistrate and getting permission from the court they remanded them
for 14 days custody. The Court heard the argument of the Advocates
appearing for the accused. This did not happen in the Malegaon Blast
case, where Hindus were arrested and kept under illegal detention.
Why is it so? Is the Law different for Hindu accused persons?
I am quoting below what CBI said when the reporters asked many
questions. "Sharing the dias with DIG Kanthaswamy, SP Rajeevakshan and
DySP Nandakumar Nair, the joint director did not answer any queries
in detail or give details of the involvement of each of the accused in
Abhaya's killing. ""Wait for a month, we will give you all the
details," he repeated.
Whereas Mumbai ATS has been giving day to day report about Malegaon blast.
They are trying to implicate Lt Col Shri kant Purohit in all the
blasts which took place in this country, of which ATS have not got
any clue. First they told Lt Col Purohit got the RDX from Army. Army
is not a production unit to keep stock of RDX or any other
ingredients of the bomb.
"In Bengaluru, last week, the Army man categorically denied having
taken RDX from any source during his J&K stint. Questions in this
regard were repeated to him but each time he strongly denied that he
had any links to the RDX. He was cooperative and answered with
clarity, said sources.
Sources in the Army also said a Military Intelligence officer has no
access to explosives. "He is in mufti and his brief is to collect
intelligence on insurgency and anti-national activities. Also, the
Army does not use or store RDX," an official source said.
I am also furnishing below a few published reports -
" Purohit used to collect money for his activities and financial
transactions were through banks and hawala agencies. Police suspect
that some money was routed through Bangladesh, where Abhinav Bharat
sympathizers are active."
'Purohit fits into the description of bomb trainer.'
'The Maharastra police are now examining whether Lt Col Shrikant
Prasad Purohit arrested in connection with Malegaon blast was
involved in blasts in Parbhani, Jalna and Purna, as Sanjay Chaudhari
an accused in April 2006 Nanded blast case has referred to a person
called Mithun Chakravarthy. During narco- analysis test Chaudhari
said Chakravarthy who trained Nandel blast accused Himanshu
Vyankatesh Panse in bomb – making , had a beard, was tall and stoutly
built." The training programe was held in Shivagad in Pune , Purohit
's home town.
There are so many Army officers and others having beard, and are tall
and stout. If the ATS wanted to clarify this doubt, why did they not
conduct the identification parade before coming out with a story?
Their only aim is to damage the image of a patriotic Army officer.
Before coming out with such report they should have verified where he
was at the time of the bomb blast. Moreover, narco-analysis test is
not a valid proof in the court of law. ATS could not get any proof
after completing forensic test , psychological profile test and
polygraph test carried out on the Sadhvi and Purohit.
Despite the absence of any evidence to frame the accused, the ATS
told the press that Purohit is the master mind of Samjhauta Express
train blast. This was contradictory to the revelation from the
Forensic test that no RDX was used in the above bomb blast. When this
attempt also failed, ATS came up with a report that Purohit, has
arranged a revolver licence for his friend, Milind Datye from the
army quota with forged documents. The Pune ATS told the court they
received a complaint about this from Datye himself when he got
suspicion about the licence after Purohit's arrest in the blast.
Sudhakar Chaturvedi, national co-ordinator for Abhinav Bharat, was
arrested by the Matunga police on Nov 4 on charges of carrying an
illegal revolver and possessing a fake identity card of the Deolali
military cantonment.
In brief what do we understand from these reports?
This is a conspiracy by unscrupulous, anti- national elements to
damage the image of the Hindu organizations and Indian Army, by
implicating Hindu spiritual leaders and Army officers. Otherwise why
has the ATS not done any further investigation on how the motor cycle
got into the hands of one Ramji before arresting Sadhvi Pragya?
There is every possibility the conspirators killed Sunil Joshi to
implicate Sadhvi Pragya. How come ATS is silent on the reason for
killing Sunil Joshi? For investigating the above details, Ramji's
presence is not required. Sadhvi Pragya is said to be a great orator
. She must be having so many devotees . There is no rule that Army
people cannot keep in touch with any spiritual leader. The arrested
Major Ramesh Upadhyay(retd) said that he was very much impressed with
Sadhvi Pragya's speech. When they failed to establish any link with
RDX used in explosion, they are implicating the Army officer with
forgery of the documents and also questioning the working of Army
establishments. The last two reports are clearly indicating this.
Some how the Govt wants keep alive the case till the next general
election to please the 'minorities'. The imposition of the Maharashtra
Control of Organized Crime Act(MCOCA)on the accused persons without
any solid evidence, is proof enough of the Govt's active participation
in this conspiracy, which seems to have the involvement of the ISI
also.
T.C.Govindan,
Chennai.
Arrest demanded of ATS officers for human rights violation: VHP
VHP demands arrest of ATS officers for human rights violation
Express News Service Posted: Nov 19, 2008 at 0155 hrs
Ahmedabad, November 18 The Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Gujarat on Tuesday demanded the arrest of the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) officers interrogating Sadhvi Pragya Singh and eight other people in connection with the Malegaon blast, for “human rights violations.”
VHP General Secretary Praveen Togadia said in a statement that the ATS was torturing the sadhu-sadhvis and targeting Hindu religion. He also urged the judiciary to protect the human rights of all citizens.
The statement said that one of the Malegoan blast accused had told the Nasik court on November 17 that he was not allowed to meet either his lawyer or his family. Besides, the ATS was preventing three letters that he had written, to be sent out.
The statement added that Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur had told the court that she was tortured by the police.
Togadia threatened a nationwide stir if the Maharashtra government failed to address the human rights concerns of the accused.
http://www.expressindia.com/story_print.php?storyId=387666
NSA to brief Advani on Malegaon blast probe
21 Nov 2008, 0904 hrs IST, TIMES NEWS NETWORK & AGENCIES
NEW DELHI: Two days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called up BJP leader L K Advani in regard to his allegations about torture of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a key accused in the Malegaon blast case, National Security Advisor M K Naryanan will meet the BJP leader on Friday to discuss the ongoing ATS probe. ( Watch )
Intelligence Bureau Chief P C Haldar will also be present at the meeting, highly placed BJP sources said.
According to BJP sources, Advani forcefully took up the sadhvi's case on Tuesday when the PM called him up to offer to share details of the investigations into the Malegaon blast leading to the arrests of the sadhvi and Lt Colonel Shrikant Purohit.
"Have you gone through the affidavit filed by Pragya in the Nashik court where she has given details of how she was tortured and was kept in illegal detention for 16 days? I was outraged when I read the account and I am sure that you would feel the same," Advani is learnt to have told the PM.
The Leader of Opposition also strongly objected to the Malegaon case being called a case of Hindu terror.
"Before that, I had only objected to the expression `Hindu terror' for the Malegaon blast. My point was simple, we never used descriptions like Muslim terror or Sikh terror. Then why are we describing the Malegaon case as an act of Hindu terror," Advani is learnt to have told the PM, according to sources close to Advani.
Advani also used the conversation to rebut any suggestion that the BJP had reversed its stand on terrorism because of the "faith" of Malegaon suspects. "A terrorist is a terrorist. He has no religion. He is a criminal and should be treated as one," he told the PM.
Singh had called Advani just after he issued a strongly-worded statement attacking the "barbaric treatment" of the sadhvi by Maharashtra's anti-terrorism squad and against the backdrop BJP ratcheting up its protest against Malegaon arrests.
Singh had offered to send national security advisor M K Narayanan over to Advani to explain the details of the case, in what is seen as reflecting recognition on the government's part of the fallout that BJP's protests can have for the investigations into Malegaon and other suspected cases of `Hindu terror'.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3739632,prtpage-1.cms
Stavan Desai, Hindustan Times
Email Author
Mumbai, November 21, 2008
First Published: 00:26 IST(21/11/2008)
Last Updated: 09:57 IST(21/11/2008)
Hindu terror targets RSS
Members of Hindu right-wing organisation Abhinav Bharat, accused of carrying out the Malegaon blast, plotted to kill senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders who they thought weren’t doing enough for Hindutva, show investigation reports accessed exclusively by Hindustan Times.
At a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party has declared its support for the accused, who are being investigated by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), the probe report reveals a plan to kill RSS general secretary Mohan Bhagwat and senior leader Indraeesh, who manages the Rashtriya Muslim Manch, which attracts Muslims with a “nationalistic outlook”. The report is with the state Home Department, which has shared it with the Union Home Ministry and central intelligence agencies.
Data found on the laptop of Dayanand Pandey, alias Shankaracharya Sudhakar Dwivedi, who was arrested in Lucknow on November 12, verifies the report. Experts at the Forensic Science Laboratory in Kalina are examining the laptop.
The planned killings, the report said, were masterminded by S. Apte, a 70-year-old Pune-based RSS worker who was unhappy with the organisation’s functioning, along with Pandey, Major (retd) Ramesh Upadhyay and a leading Delhi-based doctor identified only as ‘Dr Singh’.
The ATS found that Apte and Pandey, the son of a retired sub-inspector of the Uttar Pradesh police, approached Lieutenant-Colonel Prasad Purohit for help in executing the plan. Apte also paid him Rs 10 lakh, said the report.
Purohit introduced a close aide, whose identity HT has withheld so as not to hinder investigations, to Apte to assist him.
In August, when the group learnt that Bhagwat and Indraeesh would be visiting Pune, “Apte showed [Purohit’s aide] around the various spots [suitable for the killings] in Pune” and they zeroed in on a couple.
Investigations also showed that “[Pandey] had arranged for a weapon”, a 9 mm foreign-made pistol, which was delivered to one of his followers “in Faridabad” when he and Apte first hatched the plot.
The ATS is investigating Apte, who is currently in Pune.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=a3ca5b7b-8161-4fc0-a935-ed0de020cc7b
Saffron unity: BJP, RSS, VHP join hands for elections
Divyamanu Chaudhry
CNN-IBN
FOR OR AGAINST: It is still not clear if LK Advani is in favour of Sadhvi or not.
New Delhi: Adversity seems to have brought the squabbling cousins in the Parivar together. The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh is sharing dias with the rabble rousing sadhus and sants (priests).
In Panipat, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) also known as the Sangh made it clear that it will make allegations of ‘Hindu terror’ an election issue. The RSS is planning an Amarnath type agitation on the Malegaon blasts investigations and the BJP will be lending support to it.
“There is a strong undercurrent and we need to mobilize especially after the Malegaon episode,” says RSS spokesperson Ram Madhav.
But it is still not clear if the BJP united on its support to the movement. The party president Rajnath Singh has been the most vociferous and visible face in support of the Sadhvi while National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s prime ministerial candidate LK Advani for once seems to be playing second fiddle.
“If someone is not sharing the dias it doesn’t make him any less Hindu,’ says BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
But the NDA allies don’t seem to be following them. It is an open secret that some like the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and Bharitya Janata Dal (BJD) don’t seem toeing the RSS line on this issue. They are restless and disassociating themselves from the campaign.
“Our main concern is the national agenda for governance and that is being followed by all in the NDA,” says BJP leader BJ Pande.
This open show of unity by the BJP, RSS and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) especially before the elections is a big thumbs up for the saffron brigade. After all the Ram Janmabhoomi movement played a big role in the party's success in the 1990's, now what really needs to be seen is that how much of all this actually translates into votes in the impending elections.
http://ibnlive.in.com/printpage.php?id=78372§ion_id=3
NO SMALL DIFFERENCE
- Hindu vigilante versus jihadi terrorist
Mukul Kesavan (Kolkata, The Telegraph, 20 Nov. 2008)
After the Bharatiya Janata Party’s denunciation of the authorities at Jamia Millia Islamia University for their decision to extend legal aid to two students arrested for suspected involvement in terrorist conspiracy, it is good to see the party belatedly embrace that civilized republican principle, the presumption of innocence. The arrest of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit for their alleged involvement in the explosions in Malegaon has, after some initial hesitation, spurred the party to affirm their innocence and offer the sadhvi the best legal representation available in the country. The anti-terrorist squad and its investigations of Thakur and Purohit for terrorist activity have been condemned by the spokespersons of the sangh parivar as politically motivated and unsound.
None of this is unreasonable. The accused are entitled to a fair trial and good lawyers are an indispensable part of due process; moreover, the tendency of the Indian police and its investigative agencies to feed newspapers and news channels with unreliable information and spurious breakthroughs in cases that are never resolved, leads to an understandable scepticism about their claims. The BJP is also right in taking exception to the term ‘Hindu terrorism’; even if Thakur and Purohit were to be found guilty, no connection between being Hindu and being terrorist would follow from their guilt. In the event of their conviction, the proper term for their activities would be ‘Hindutva-vaditerror’: to assimilate a large and law-abiding community to the violence of bigots would be unjust.
The BJP is also right in arguing that members of India’s armed forces should not be carelessly implicated by police agencies in something as serious as terrorism. Not because soldiers should be seen to be above the law or be privileged by it, but because the political neutrality of the army is a precious asset and charging an officer with political extremism is a serious business, not to be lightly undertaken. The Indian army is a curious institution, built on pluralist ideas that are colonial rather than republican in their provenance. But in times of sectarian violence, it is often summoned to establish order because unlike the police, it is seen as a secular, apolitical force. So if the BJP’s affirmation of Purohit’s innocence ensures a thorough investigation and a fair trial, the party will have done all Indians a favour.
Equally, L.K. Advani’s condemnation of the ‘narco’ tests administered to the sadhvi (and the colonel) is consistent with the long-held position of human rights activists that forcing suspects to endure potentially dangerous chemical injections to induce legally worthless confessions is both barbaric and illegal. ‘Brain mapping’ and ‘narco testing’ are good examples of the ways in which Indian policemen use pseudo-scientific gimcrackery as a substitute for real police work.
So on these issues, every Indian who believes in the rule of law should endorse the BJP’s criticism of the ATS. The sadhvi’s allegations that she was beaten and tortured in police custody should be taken seriously. Advani’s demand that Thakur and Purohit be investigated by a judicial probe, and not by the ATS, ought to be given fair consideration. The fact that the BJP and its allies were pleased with the rough ‘justice’ meted out to the two men shot by the police in the Batla House ‘encounter’ and subsequently wanted Jamia’s students left indefinitely in police custody, unaided by the university to which they were affiliated, doesn’t in itself invalidate the importance of human rights and due process.
The real difficulty with the sangh parivar’s defence of Pragya Singh Thakur and Shrikant Purohit lies in the reasons its spokespersons adduce for their innocence. Praveen Togadia, the chief of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, made the Hindutva-vadi case without qualifications: “No Hindu can be a terrorist,” he declared. Asked if he knew the sadhvi, he said, “I do not know Pragya Singh at all. But I know she is not a terrorist.” For Togadia, Thakur’s birth identity was all the evidence he needed to know that the allegations against her were false. He told The Hindu as much: “Hindus will not forget this. They [the police and the Congress] are committing the sin of describing a Hindu, a ‘sadhvi’, as a terrorist… I warn that there will be a political backlash and the government will be swept out.”
Chandan Mitra, MP and editor of The Pioneer, made the same point more circumspectly. “Let the courts pronounce the ‘Hindu terrorists’ guilty,” he wrote in the Economic Times, “and, if so, let the verdicts be executed. But they cannot be pilloried on the basis of specious ‘confessions’, which could well be figments of a beleaguered ATS’s shaky imagination.” Aware that this might seem inconsistent with the sangh parivar’s enthusiasm for pillorying Muslims accused of terrorist conspiracy by anti-terrorist squads elsewhere, Mitra argued that Muslims accused of terrorism were a different matter. Muslims had form in the matter of terrorist conspiracy whereas Hindus didn’t. “Many SIMI and other jihadi terror mongers have already been brought to book and are being tried in courts. The most celebrated of the lot, Afzal Guru, has been found guilty by the Supreme Court and sentenced to death.”
One SIMI member, Yasin Patel, has been successfully prosecuted under a terrorism law. Three others were recently jailed for a year, not for terrorism but for stoking communal hatred. Even if there were to be a string of successful terror prosecutions against the SIMI, are we to understand that Mitra would have the police and the public withhold the presumption of innocence from Muslims in cases of terrorist conspiracy?
This is rather like arguing that once Hindus are convicted of terrorizing and murdering Muslims during the Gujarat pogroms, or slaughtering Sikhs in the Delhi pogrom of 1984, any Hindu accused of communal killing afterwards can be legitimately treated as guilty unless proven innocent, whereas Muslims and Sikhs charged with communal violence ought to continue to be given the benefit of the doubt.
In essence, there is no difference between Mitra’s position and Togadia’s. They both believe that Hindu violence can’t be described as terror because Hindus are victims. Victims can’t be perpetrators. So even if the ATS case against Thakur and Purohit is successfully prosecuted, even if they are guilty of organizing the explosions in Malegaon, they aren’t terrorists because all they’re doing is retaliating against jihadi violence. “Even if for a moment we accept that some Hindus have indulged in copycat acts,” writes Mitra, “it must be borne in mind that the majority of Indians are shocked, outraged, angry and even vengeful because of relentless terrorist depredations. Nearly 10,000 innocent people have died at the hands of bloodthirsty jihadi terrorists over the past 15 years.
“If some people, howsoever misguided, attempt to avenge this because the state fails to provide security or succour should it come as a big surprise? This is not to justify vigilante action, but only try and explain it.”
I’m not sure what form of words would constitute a watertight justification of vigilantism, but that last paragraph comes close. Then, in a remarkable move, Mitra holds out ‘Hindu’ involvement in the Malegaon blasts as a sinister portent: “If the state does not shed its hypocrisy the alleged Malegaon plot may only be the beginning.” So from the illegitimacy of the notion of “Hindu terror” we’ve arrived at the prospect of continuous ‘Hindu’ violence if the State dares to apply to Hindus the police methods it routinely uses against Muslims.
The difference between Indians who respect the republic’s Constitution and the majoritarian Right is this: constitutional democrats speak out against the police treatment of the sadhvi and the colonel because, as citizens of this republic, this nation of laws, they deserve every protection the law has to offer. The sangh parivar demands these protections because Thakur and Purohit are Hindu. This is not a small difference: it’s the difference between a civilized nation and a sectarian country, the difference, if you like, between India and Pakistan.
mukulkesavan@hotmail.com
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081120/jsp/opinion/story_10132969.jsp
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Spit-and-scoot ATS: political victimisation of an MI officer.
Thursday, November 20, 2008 (Pioneer)
A Hindu Dreyfus Affair?
Ashok Malik
Has a rogue operation by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad ended up undermining a Military Intelligence network and thus severely discomfited the Army? The implications of the 'Hindu terror' fiasco could be far-reaching
Depending on political positions, the so-called 'Hindu terrorism' issue has divided the political class and analysts into two. One section believes this is a concocted case, and the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad is simply arresting people on the basis of the fact that they socially knew or called the mobile number of the previous suspect. The other argues that this is final and incontrovertible proof that a secret army of 'Hindu fascists' is bent upon destroying India.
Indeed, as one writer put it in a formerly mainstream newspaper this past week, the episode is evidence of the BJP's "specious sophistry" and inability to face up to the radicals in the Hindu Right. He gushingly contrasted this with the response of others, such as "the Deobandis -- who had earlier issued a fatwa against terror -- the Muslim clergy congregated in Hyderabad for a conference to deprive terror of religious sanction".
Truth may not be quite as neat. There is a third possibility that the whole business was an intelligence operation that went horribly wrong -- or, for some people, just perfectly right. As is now coming to be believed, did a section of the intelligence agencies, working on behalf of the Congress, seek to infiltrate the broader Hindu socio-religious leadership, exploit the anger against the Government's inability to counterjihadi terror and then comfortably frame them?
There are many gaps in the story that need to be filled. For instance, it is clear that Lt Col SP Purohit -- whom the Maharashtra ATS has accused of being the 'Hindu terror' mastermind -- was politically supportive of Right-wing political philosophy. Perhaps he knew similarly aligned and active people. There is nothing startling about this. Maharashtra's political tradition since Tilak and Ranade -- if not earlier -- has been alive to such ideas.
However, to see Lt Col Purohit's political views as disagreeable is one thing, to label him a terrorist is another. As a Military Intelligence officer, he was professionally bound to be in touch with a range of people, reputable, dubious or otherwise. Among his 'registered sources' -- sources he was in contact with, and whose identities were reported by him to his superiors in the Army -- were at least two people who have now been called 'Hindu terrorists' by the Maharashtra ATS.
When Lt Col Purohit was transferred from Deolali (a town in Nashik district), he passed on his 'registered contacts' to his successor. As such, two so-called 'Hindu terrorists' were paid informants working on behalf of the Indian Army, introduced by one officer -- who may have shared their electoral preferences -- to another -- who may not have been a political sympathiser.
Intelligence sources don't emerge from thin air. A source and an intelligence gatherer have to share social and other affinities. That is how they learn to trust each other. That is why Muslim police officers and intelligence operatives hold the key to winning the war against jihad .
As such, it was only to be expected that Lt Col Purohit would be asked to use his personal capacities to keep abreast with Hindu social currents. It is understood that he was also in contact with senior officers of the (then) Royal Nepal Army, officers who were Generals and seriously outranked him. Here again, he was using personal contacts for a professional, national purpose.
If his interaction with the Nepal Army was, however, unauthorised, it would be a serious indiscretion. That is for the Indian Army to clarify.
Here one begins treading on dangerous ground. At some point, from being the channel to Hindu activists, Lt Col Purohit became the target of a rogue intelligence operation, with the Maharashtra ATS and the Army working at cross-purposes, probably unknown to each other.
As long as the Maharashtra Police was targeting unknown civilians and little-known religious figures, and alleging they were behind small, localised bombings, the issue was serious in its ramifications but also limited in its context.
Having named Lt Col Purohit as the possible initiator of the Samjhauta Express terrorist attack in early-2007, the Maharashtra police -- despite its subsequent, ham-handed backtracking -- has taken things a trifle too far. What was a standard dirty tricks operation by a politicised police unit has now threatened to become something far, far bigger.
What the ATS has so far implied is this: Lt Col Purohit travelled across the country planning terrorist bombings, from Malegaon to Nanded, Samjhauta Express to Hyderabad's Mecca Masjid. He allegedly stole 60 kg of RDX from the Army and handed it over to a Hindu militia. While he was doing all this, his superiors noticed nothing. They did not find his behaviour out of character; most important, the Army did not miss 60 kg of RDX -- enough to blow up Parliament, Rashtrapati Bhawan, South and North Blocks and still have ammunition to spare.
If this is true, and if the Indian Army is so casual and delinquent, then far from being a stable state, India is the mother of all banana republics. If this is true, India cannot be trusted with nuclear bombs, with sophisticated weapons, perhaps even with a standing Army. It is a rogue state masquerading as a democracy. That is the upshot of the accusation being made by the Maharashtra ATS.
The next time there is a terrorist attack in India, and the Home Ministry points fingers at Pakistani or Bangladeshi involvement, Islamabad and Dhaka could retort that New Delhi had better question the Indian Army first. They could cite the expansive Press briefings of the Maharashtra ATS as corroborative material.
In the 1890s, a Jewish officer serving in the French Army was convicted of spying for Germany and sent to prison. Years later, it was revealed that he had actually been framed, that the documents used to implicate him were fabricated. The real culprit was another officer. In 1906, Alfred Dreyfus, the officer who was a victim of anti-Semitism, was exonerated and went on to serve his country in World War I.
Has modern-day India created a 'Hindu' Dreyfus?
http://dailypioneer.com/135567/A-Hindu-Dreyfus-Affair.html
Thursday, November 20, 2008 (Pioneer)
ATS runs out of ammo
TN Raghunatha | Mumbai
But needs 3 cases to book Purohit under MCOCA
Shrikant Shivde, defence counsel for key Malegaon blast accused Lt Col Prasad Purohit, on Wednesday alleged that by seeking custody in different cases, the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) was desperately trying to invoke the provisions of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against his client.
On a day when First Class Judicial magistrate (JFMC) GG Itkalkar remanded Purohit to police custody in a forgery and cheating case till November 21, Purohit's counsel charged that by demanding his client's police custody repeatedly, the ATS wanted to show Purohit had committed more than three offences so that it could project him as a member of an organised crime syndicate, a pre-requisite for booking a person under MCOCA.
Purohit's counsel also charged that the ATS was drumming up charges against his client. Given his exceptional credentials as a serving Army officer who had participated in many military operations, including operation Vijay and Operation Rakshak, and had killed many terrorists during his career, it was sad that the ATS was terming Purohit as an anti-national, defence counsel said.
Purohit's counsel also produced a set of commendations and a document showing that he had been invited by the ATS to deliver a lecture on terror combat techniques.
Alluding to a complaint filed by a Pune resident against Purohit that the latter had produced fake documents to help the former obtain an arms licence, Shivde said that Pune resident Shirish Date had with the help of Purohit got an arms licence way back in 2005, why did not the ATS not take action against the complainant assuming that he did not possess a valid arms licence.
Dwelling on the manner in which his client was being harassed by the investigating agencies, Shivde told mediapersons that the CBI and Haryana police had at one stage handed out deaths to Purohit.
Ahead of the production of Purohit before Pune's Shivajinagar court, there were hundreds of activists belonging to various Hindu organisations raising slogans expressing their solidarity with him.
As he was being escorted back to the ATS van after the court remanded him to police custody for two days in forgery and cheating case, the Hindu activists showered rose petals on the officer and raised slogans of ''Jai Bhavani, Jai Shivaji'' and "Purohit Tum Aage Bado Hum Saath Hain". Giving a new twist to the Malegaon blast case, Purohit on Wednesday alleged in a Pune court that he was being victimised for "political reasons" as he was in possession of information pertaining to SIMI and ISI that could embarrass some quarters.
Purohit's counsel Srikant Shivde alleged that the officer was in possession of intelligence data of a "sensitive nature" regarding SIMI and ISI operations and could even be eliminated.
Meanwhile, a Pune court remanded Abhinav Bharat activist Sameer Kulkarni, an accused in the Malegaon blast case, to police custody for a day in a case involving the alleged attack on a Christian leader in 2007.
The remand felicitated the Khadki police to question Kulkarni for a day in question with in connection with a case lodged against him in 2007 for allegedly being a part of the group that assaulted Pastor Peter David Silway of Vineyard Workers' Church.
Like in the case of Purohit, hundreds of activists belonging to Hindu organisations had turned out in a large numbers to express their solidarity with him. They raised vociferous slogans for Kulkarni.
Meanwhile, the probe into how Hindu outfits accused of terrorism had links with some Armymen brought a few business houses under the scanner of Maharashtra's ATS and Central Security agencies investigating the finances of the group allegedly responsible for Malegaon blast. Sources attached with the probe said that a religious leader from Southern Gujarat was one of those who collected funds from the business houses.
Working on the chain of events about finances of the Abhinav Bharat, a little known saffron outfit allegedly involved in the September 29 Malegaon blast that left six people dead, sources said names of some of the business houses in Maharashtra as well as Gujarat cropped up. A check was being done whether the business houses were aware about the end use of funds. "We have questioned some of them and we are working to ascertain as to how much of money had been handed over to the saffron outfit," a senior probe official said on the condition of anonymity. The names of the business houses were not divulged for security reasons, reports PTI.
http://dailypioneer.com/135690/ATS-runs-out-of-ammo.html
ATS may arrest Abhinav Bharat leader today
20 Nov 2008, 0354 hrs IST, Mateen Hafeez, TNN
MUMBAI: Sudhakar Chaturvedi, the national coordinator for the Abhinav Bharat organisation, who the police claim has admitted to his role in planning the Malegaon blast, is likely to be arrested by the Anti-Terror squad on Thursday.
Chaturvedi (37) was arrested by Matunga police on November 4 on charges of carrying a revolver without licence and possessing a fake ID of Deolali military cantonment. During narco-analysis on Tuesday in Bangalore, he told forensic experts that he had arranged several meetings of Abhinav Bharat members in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Haryana. The ATS, probing the September 29 Malegaon blast, suspects the blast was planned in these meetings.
Lt-Col Shrikant Prasad Purohit, the alleged mastermind, was on Wednesday subjected to brain mapping and polygraph test at the forensic laboratory in Kalina, Mumbai. The ATS have so far arrested 10 people including Purohit, retired Major Ramesh Upadhay, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Mahant Dayanand Pandey for their alleged role in the Malegaon blast that killed six. The ATS has claimed that Purohit masterminded the blast and procured RDX to assemble the bomb.
"Chaturvedi has admitted that Purohit had given him the revolver and also prepared a fake ID for his entry into the Deolali military cantonment. The ATS submitted an application in Kurla court on Saturday seeking his custody in the blast case,'' said senior inspector Sunil Deshmukh of Matunga police station. Deshmukh said Chaturvedi worked for Abhinav Bharat on a monthly salary of Rs 5,000.
"Chaturvedi's basic job was to arrange meetings and inform all the members about the meeting. He used to raise funds for the organisation too,'' said Deshmukh. Police sources said Chaturvedi had visited the restricted military area in Deolali camp near Nashik several times and was in constant touch with Purohit. It is also learned that Purohit had prepared the fake ID for Chaturvedi in 2005, when he was posted at Deolali as a liaison officer.
Chaturvedi hails from Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh and migrated to Maharashtra 10 years ago. He had been staying in a rented room in a chawl at Deolali. Police said he was aware of the blast conspiracy and his arrest would lead to details of the case. Chaturvedi had also visited the Bhonsale military school in Nashik to attend a personal development camp. It was there Purohit introduced him to Major Upadhay, now retired. The Matunga police may also booked Purohit in its case of keeping illegal firearms and helping Chaturvedi in preparing the fake military ID.
Purohit is currently in the custody of ATS (Pune unit), in a case of forgery. The Sarkar Wada police station in Nashik had registered a case of forgery and cheating against Purohit last Saturday. Yeshwant Date, who lodged the complaint of forgery, told police that Purohit had submitted fake documents to get an arm license for him. Date said he didn't know then that Purohit was cheating him.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3733665,prtpage-1.cms
'Purohit oversaw bomb-making'
20 Nov 2008, 0132 hrs IST, Pranati Mehra & Mateen Hafeez, TNN
MUMBAI: Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Abhinav Bharat national coordinator who allegedly participated in the Malegaon blast conspiracy, revealed during a narco-analysis on Tuesday that some Muslim boys had assembled the bomb that was planted in Malegaon on September 29. The blast killed six people.
Lt-Col Shrikant Purohit, Major (Retd) Ramesh Upadhyay and one Sudhakar Dange "inspected" the assembling of the bomb by the Muslim boys, Chaturvedi said during the test in Bangalore, probe officials told TOI on Wednesday.
Purohit and Upadhyay are in ATS custody and Chaturvedi is likely to be in ATS custody by Thursday. The Muslim boys took the bomb to Malegaon along with Ramji — an accused the ATS is yet to find — and planted it near the SIMI office with Ramji’s help, Chaturvedi is learnt to have said. Officials said he also said Ramji had brought the LML Freedom two-wheeler to Malegaon.
The two-wheeler was owned by Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and led the ATS to the sadhvi. The sadhvi claimed in her affidavit before the Nashik court on Monday that she sold it in 2004 to a man named Sunil Joshi for Rs 24,000. So, if the narco tests claims are to be believed, the ATS now has to establish the link between Joshi and Ramji. Purohit had said in his test on November 12 that some Malegaon Muslims had prepared the bomb and that the RDX was sourced from some Kashmiri Muslims in Pune. Chaturvedi was arrested by the Matunga police on November 4 on charges of carrying an illegal revolver and possessing a fake Deolali military cantonment identity card.
He was subjected to narco-analysis on Tuesday in Bangalore and, during the test, told forensic experts that he had arranged several meetings of Abhinav Bharat members at Indore, Panchmarhi and Jabalpur (MP), Faridabad and other places in Haryana and Gujarat as well as Deolali. The ATS, however, suspects that the blast conspiracy was hatched in these meetings.
Chaturvedi has reportedly revealed that some businessmen in Maharashtra were funding Abhinav Bharat. ‘‘But they may not have known what the money was being spent for,’’ Chaturvedi is learnt to have said. Purohit, too, was on Wednesday subjected to brain-mapping and polygraph tests at the Kalina forensic laboratory.
The ATS has so far arrested 10 persons, including Purohit, Major (Retd) Ramesh Upadhay, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Mahant Dayanand Pandey, for their alleged role in the blast that killed six persons. The ATS has claimed that Purohit masterminded the Malegaon blast.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3734249,prtpage-1.cms
Satyajit Joshi , Hindustan Times
Pune, November 20, 2008
First Published: 01:43 IST(20/11/2008)
Last Updated: 02:07 IST(20/11/2008)
CBI threatened to kill me: Purohit
Lt Col Srikant Prasad Purohit, one of the prime accused in the Malegaon blast case, told a Pune court on Wednesday that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Haryana police had threatened to kill him in an encounter.
Purohit was produced before Judicial Magistrate (First Class) G.G. Itkalkar here for allegedly procuring an arms licence for Pune-based Shirish Date by using fake documents. Purohit has been granted two days police custody by the court.
Contesting the forgery case, Purohit also claimed that he was falsely implicated in the Malegaon case, and anti-national elements, like the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), were pleased with his arrest.
In Delhi, a Union home ministry official, who did not wish to be identified, negated a public prosecutor’s charge in a Mumbai court that Purohit was involved in the Samjhauta Express blast. He said, “Investigations are on to gather evidence although news reports are making definitive statements on his involvement.”
Earlier, Purohit’s lawyer Srikant Shivde pointed out that Maharashtra anti-terrorists-squad (ATS) had not followed the Supreme Court guidelines while arresting him. Purohit’s family members, lawyer, friends or relatives were not informed about his arrest, his medical examination was not done and there was no entry of his arrest in any police station.
Shivde also alleged that the forgery case was fabricated as the ATS wanted more time to prepare a charge sheet under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.
Earlier, Shirish Date alleged that he had paid Purohit Rs 20,000 to obtain a licence for his revolver. But after learning of Purohit’s involvement in the Malegaon blast case, he decided to check the authenticity of his licence and discovered that fake documents had been submitted. He then voluntarily came forward to file the complaint.
(With inputs from Political Bureau)
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=6467866b-ba67-4ba6-9165-5b4bc638501a
Malegaon probe: ‘Purohit could even be eliminated by ATS’
AgenciesPosted online: Nov 19, 2008 at 2048 hrs
Pune, November 19: : Malegaon blast accused Lt Col S P Purohit was on Wednesday remanded in two days of police custody by a magisterial court in Pune in connection with a case of alleged forgery in procuring a gun from the military.
Purohit, who was escorted to Pune from Nashik by the ATS squad, has been charged under various sections of IPC for committing forgery in procuring a gun from Jammu and Kashmir for one Milind Date in 2003.
Opposing the prosecutions' plea for a seven-day remand for further investigations into the case, Srikant Shivde, appearing for the accused told the judge that the ATS was trying to implicate him in a false case by threatening Date.
The counsel alleged that Purohit, who had a distinguished service record in the army, was being victimised for political reasons and he could even be eliminated by ATS because he was in possession of Intelligence data of a sensitive nature pertaining to the SIMI and ISI operations, which could embarrass some quarters.
Public Prosecutor A V Ausekar, appearing on behalf of ATS, argued that police custody for the accused was required to trace his connections in Jammu and Kashmir from where he managed to procure the gun for complainant Date from the military quota under the fake designation of Major Date and for giving bogus address in the application form for securing the weapon.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story_print.php?storyid=387838
Purohit alleges victimisation due to 'political reasons'
Pune/Mumbai (PTI): Giving a new twist to the Malegaon blast case, prime accused Lt Col S P Purohit on Wednesday alleged in a Pune court that he was being victimised for "political reasons" as he was in possession of information pertaining to SIMI and ISI that could embarrass some quarters.
Purohit's counsel Srikant Shivde alleged that the officer was in possession of Intelligence data of a "sensitive nature" regarding SIMI and ISI operations and could even be eliminated.
A military intelligence officer, Purohit, 36, who was arrested on November 3 and is one of the 10 accused including Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, was today sent to two days of police remand by a magisterial court in connection with a case of alleged forgery in procuring a gun.
Purohit, who was escorted to Pune from Nashik by the ATS squad, has been charged under various sections of IPC for committing forgery in procuring the gun from Jammu and Kashmir for one Milind Date in 2003.
Opposing the prosecutions' plea for a seven-day remand for further investigations into the case, Shivde told the judge that the ATS was trying to implicate him in a false case by threatening Date.
Public Prosecutor A V Ausekar, appearing on behalf of ATS, argued that police custody for the accused was required to trace his connections in Jammu and Kashmir from where he managed to procure the gun for Date from the military quota under the fake designation of Major Date and for giving bogus address in the application form for securing the weapon.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/000200811200334.htm
Tuesday, November 18, 2008 | Email | Print |
ATS charge backfires
The Pioneer Edit Desk
‘Investigation’ descends into witch-hunt
The Anti-Terrorism Squad of Mumbai Police has virtually ended up with egg on its face. After planting stories in those sections of the media which are only too happy to publish and broadcast any cockamamie tale that portrays Hindu spiritual leaders as ogres, denigrates Hindu society and defames Hindu organisations, and claiming in a Nashik court that Lt Col Srikant Prasad Purohit had used RDX stolen from the Army for the terrorist attack on Samjhauta Express in February 2007, it has had to eat humble crow and do an about-turn. What the too-clever-by-half ATS personnel, who have eagerly offered their services to launch what increasingly appears to be a witch-hunt and be party to a political conspiracy of calumny and worse, thus raising questions about their integrity, forgot while hurling their latest startling allegation against Lt Col Purohit is that public memory may be short, but it is not short enough to fail to recall the nature of the terrorist strike on Samjhauta Express. The explosives use on that occasion were improvised incendiary devices and the Forensic Laboratory in Chandigarh had not found any traces of RDX in the debris — for that matter, nor were any traces of RDX found at the site of the Malegaon explosion. These details are on record, as are the findings of the subsequent investigation. No less stunningly crude is the ATS’s allegation that Lt Col Purohit misappropriated 60 kg of RDX from the Army: The charge could have been brushed aside as ridiculous had it not been for the sinister implications of what has been alleged. Sixty kilograms of RDX is not a small amount of explosive material; nobody can just walk away with it from an ammunitions store of the Army. That apart, what the ATS has shockingly alleged is that the Army as an institution is so callous that an officer can pilfer a huge amount of explosive material without the theft being noticed. This is outright slanderous and the ATS must be held accountable for portraying the Army as a rogue institution; to let the calumniators go scote-free would be tantamount to whitewashing their misdeed. This paper has in the past raised the question whether the ATS sees itself as being above the law of the land and answerable to none. Since it is neither, it must be brought to heel right now before its recklessness causes irreparable damage to reputations.
It is by now obvious that the ATS is dancing to the tune of its political masters who are unmoved by the enormity of the damage that is being inflicted by the spit-and-scoot tactics which have been the mainstay of the so-called ‘investigation’ into the explosion at Malegaon that killed six Muslims in September. The feverish pace at which the ATS is pursuing this case, spinning bizarre stories by the minute and planting them by the dozen in the media, is in sharp contrast to the non-response of Maharashtra’s Congress-NCP Government, endorsed by the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre, to the mass slaughter by jihadis who bombed commuter trains in Mumbai on July 11, 2006. The perpetrators of that crime are sitting pretty, possibly laughing themselves silly over the manner in which the ATS is making a mockery of what it claims is an ‘investigation’ into a ‘terrorist attack’. This paper believes that the law must take its own course and anybody found guilty of indulging in violence should be punished. But what is being witnessed is blatant abuse of law.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/135175/ATS-charge-backfires.html
A Hindu Dreyfus Affair?
Ashok Malik
Has a rogue operation by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad ended up undermining a Military Intelligence network and thus severely discomfited the Army? The implications of the 'Hindu terror' fiasco could be far-reaching
Depending on political positions, the so-called 'Hindu terrorism' issue has divided the political class and analysts into two. One section believes this is a concocted case, and the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad is simply arresting people on the basis of the fact that they socially knew or called the mobile number of the previous suspect. The other argues that this is final and incontrovertible proof that a secret army of 'Hindu fascists' is bent upon destroying India.
Indeed, as one writer put it in a formerly mainstream newspaper this past week, the episode is evidence of the BJP's "specious sophistry" and inability to face up to the radicals in the Hindu Right. He gushingly contrasted this with the response of others, such as "the Deobandis -- who had earlier issued a fatwa against terror -- the Muslim clergy congregated in Hyderabad for a conference to deprive terror of religious sanction".
Truth may not be quite as neat. There is a third possibility that the whole business was an intelligence operation that went horribly wrong -- or, for some people, just perfectly right. As is now coming to be believed, did a section of the intelligence agencies, working on behalf of the Congress, seek to infiltrate the broader Hindu socio-religious leadership, exploit the anger against the Government's inability to counterjihadi terror and then comfortably frame them?
There are many gaps in the story that need to be filled. For instance, it is clear that Lt Col SP Purohit -- whom the Maharashtra ATS has accused of being the 'Hindu terror' mastermind -- was politically supportive of Right-wing political philosophy. Perhaps he knew similarly aligned and active people. There is nothing startling about this. Maharashtra's political tradition since Tilak and Ranade -- if not earlier -- has been alive to such ideas.
However, to see Lt Col Purohit's political views as disagreeable is one thing, to label him a terrorist is another. As a Military Intelligence officer, he was professionally bound to be in touch with a range of people, reputable, dubious or otherwise. Among his 'registered sources' -- sources he was in contact with, and whose identities were reported by him to his superiors in the Army -- were at least two people who have now been called 'Hindu terrorists' by the Maharashtra ATS.
When Lt Col Purohit was transferred from Deolali (a town in Nashik district), he passed on his 'registered contacts' to his successor. As such, two so-called 'Hindu terrorists' were paid informants working on behalf of the Indian Army, introduced by one officer -- who may have shared their electoral preferences -- to another -- who may not have been a political sympathiser.
Intelligence sources don't emerge from thin air. A source and an intelligence gatherer have to share social and other affinities. That is how they learn to trust each other. That is why Muslim police officers and intelligence operatives hold the key to winning the war against jihad .
As such, it was only to be expected that Lt Col Purohit would be asked to use his personal capacities to keep abreast with Hindu social currents. It is understood that he was also in contact with senior officers of the (then) Royal Nepal Army, officers who were Generals and seriously outranked him. Here again, he was using personal contacts for a professional, national purpose.
If his interaction with the Nepal Army was, however, unauthorised, it would be a serious indiscretion. That is for the Indian Army to clarify.
Here one begins treading on dangerous ground. At some point, from being the channel to Hindu activists, Lt Col Purohit became the target of a rogue intelligence operation, with the Maharashtra ATS and the Army working at cross-purposes, probably unknown to each other.
As long as the Maharashtra Police was targeting unknown civilians and little-known religious figures, and alleging they were behind small, localised bombings, the issue was serious in its ramifications but also limited in its context.
Having named Lt Col Purohit as the possible initiator of the Samjhauta Express terrorist attack in early-2007, the Maharashtra police -- despite its subsequent, ham-handed backtracking -- has taken things a trifle too far. What was a standard dirty tricks operation by a politicised police unit has now threatened to become something far, far bigger.
What the ATS has so far implied is this: Lt Col Purohit travelled across the country planning terrorist bombings, from Malegaon to Nanded, Samjhauta Express to Hyderabad's Mecca Masjid. He allegedly stole 60 kg of RDX from the Army and handed it over to a Hindu militia. While he was doing all this, his superiors noticed nothing. They did not find his behaviour out of character; most important, the Army did not miss 60 kg of RDX -- enough to blow up Parliament, Rashtrapati Bhawan, South and North Blocks and still have ammunition to spare.
If this is true, and if the Indian Army is so casual and delinquent, then far from being a stable state, India is the mother of all banana republics. If this is true, India cannot be trusted with nuclear bombs, with sophisticated weapons, perhaps even with a standing Army. It is a rogue state masquerading as a democracy. That is the upshot of the accusation being made by the Maharashtra ATS.
The next time there is a terrorist attack in India, and the Home Ministry points fingers at Pakistani or Bangladeshi involvement, Islamabad and Dhaka could retort that New Delhi had better question the Indian Army first. They could cite the expansive Press briefings of the Maharashtra ATS as corroborative material.
In the 1890s, a Jewish officer serving in the French Army was convicted of spying for Germany and sent to prison. Years later, it was revealed that he had actually been framed, that the documents used to implicate him were fabricated. The real culprit was another officer. In 1906, Alfred Dreyfus, the officer who was a victim of anti-Semitism, was exonerated and went on to serve his country in World War I.
Has modern-day India created a 'Hindu' Dreyfus?
http://dailypioneer.com/135567/A-Hindu-Dreyfus-Affair.html
Thursday, November 20, 2008 (Pioneer)
ATS runs out of ammo
TN Raghunatha | Mumbai
But needs 3 cases to book Purohit under MCOCA
Shrikant Shivde, defence counsel for key Malegaon blast accused Lt Col Prasad Purohit, on Wednesday alleged that by seeking custody in different cases, the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) was desperately trying to invoke the provisions of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against his client.
On a day when First Class Judicial magistrate (JFMC) GG Itkalkar remanded Purohit to police custody in a forgery and cheating case till November 21, Purohit's counsel charged that by demanding his client's police custody repeatedly, the ATS wanted to show Purohit had committed more than three offences so that it could project him as a member of an organised crime syndicate, a pre-requisite for booking a person under MCOCA.
Purohit's counsel also charged that the ATS was drumming up charges against his client. Given his exceptional credentials as a serving Army officer who had participated in many military operations, including operation Vijay and Operation Rakshak, and had killed many terrorists during his career, it was sad that the ATS was terming Purohit as an anti-national, defence counsel said.
Purohit's counsel also produced a set of commendations and a document showing that he had been invited by the ATS to deliver a lecture on terror combat techniques.
Alluding to a complaint filed by a Pune resident against Purohit that the latter had produced fake documents to help the former obtain an arms licence, Shivde said that Pune resident Shirish Date had with the help of Purohit got an arms licence way back in 2005, why did not the ATS not take action against the complainant assuming that he did not possess a valid arms licence.
Dwelling on the manner in which his client was being harassed by the investigating agencies, Shivde told mediapersons that the CBI and Haryana police had at one stage handed out deaths to Purohit.
Ahead of the production of Purohit before Pune's Shivajinagar court, there were hundreds of activists belonging to various Hindu organisations raising slogans expressing their solidarity with him.
As he was being escorted back to the ATS van after the court remanded him to police custody for two days in forgery and cheating case, the Hindu activists showered rose petals on the officer and raised slogans of ''Jai Bhavani, Jai Shivaji'' and "Purohit Tum Aage Bado Hum Saath Hain". Giving a new twist to the Malegaon blast case, Purohit on Wednesday alleged in a Pune court that he was being victimised for "political reasons" as he was in possession of information pertaining to SIMI and ISI that could embarrass some quarters.
Purohit's counsel Srikant Shivde alleged that the officer was in possession of intelligence data of a "sensitive nature" regarding SIMI and ISI operations and could even be eliminated.
Meanwhile, a Pune court remanded Abhinav Bharat activist Sameer Kulkarni, an accused in the Malegaon blast case, to police custody for a day in a case involving the alleged attack on a Christian leader in 2007.
The remand felicitated the Khadki police to question Kulkarni for a day in question with in connection with a case lodged against him in 2007 for allegedly being a part of the group that assaulted Pastor Peter David Silway of Vineyard Workers' Church.
Like in the case of Purohit, hundreds of activists belonging to Hindu organisations had turned out in a large numbers to express their solidarity with him. They raised vociferous slogans for Kulkarni.
Meanwhile, the probe into how Hindu outfits accused of terrorism had links with some Armymen brought a few business houses under the scanner of Maharashtra's ATS and Central Security agencies investigating the finances of the group allegedly responsible for Malegaon blast. Sources attached with the probe said that a religious leader from Southern Gujarat was one of those who collected funds from the business houses.
Working on the chain of events about finances of the Abhinav Bharat, a little known saffron outfit allegedly involved in the September 29 Malegaon blast that left six people dead, sources said names of some of the business houses in Maharashtra as well as Gujarat cropped up. A check was being done whether the business houses were aware about the end use of funds. "We have questioned some of them and we are working to ascertain as to how much of money had been handed over to the saffron outfit," a senior probe official said on the condition of anonymity. The names of the business houses were not divulged for security reasons, reports PTI.
http://dailypioneer.com/135690/ATS-runs-out-of-ammo.html
ATS may arrest Abhinav Bharat leader today
20 Nov 2008, 0354 hrs IST, Mateen Hafeez, TNN
MUMBAI: Sudhakar Chaturvedi, the national coordinator for the Abhinav Bharat organisation, who the police claim has admitted to his role in planning the Malegaon blast, is likely to be arrested by the Anti-Terror squad on Thursday.
Chaturvedi (37) was arrested by Matunga police on November 4 on charges of carrying a revolver without licence and possessing a fake ID of Deolali military cantonment. During narco-analysis on Tuesday in Bangalore, he told forensic experts that he had arranged several meetings of Abhinav Bharat members in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Haryana. The ATS, probing the September 29 Malegaon blast, suspects the blast was planned in these meetings.
Lt-Col Shrikant Prasad Purohit, the alleged mastermind, was on Wednesday subjected to brain mapping and polygraph test at the forensic laboratory in Kalina, Mumbai. The ATS have so far arrested 10 people including Purohit, retired Major Ramesh Upadhay, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Mahant Dayanand Pandey for their alleged role in the Malegaon blast that killed six. The ATS has claimed that Purohit masterminded the blast and procured RDX to assemble the bomb.
"Chaturvedi has admitted that Purohit had given him the revolver and also prepared a fake ID for his entry into the Deolali military cantonment. The ATS submitted an application in Kurla court on Saturday seeking his custody in the blast case,'' said senior inspector Sunil Deshmukh of Matunga police station. Deshmukh said Chaturvedi worked for Abhinav Bharat on a monthly salary of Rs 5,000.
"Chaturvedi's basic job was to arrange meetings and inform all the members about the meeting. He used to raise funds for the organisation too,'' said Deshmukh. Police sources said Chaturvedi had visited the restricted military area in Deolali camp near Nashik several times and was in constant touch with Purohit. It is also learned that Purohit had prepared the fake ID for Chaturvedi in 2005, when he was posted at Deolali as a liaison officer.
Chaturvedi hails from Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh and migrated to Maharashtra 10 years ago. He had been staying in a rented room in a chawl at Deolali. Police said he was aware of the blast conspiracy and his arrest would lead to details of the case. Chaturvedi had also visited the Bhonsale military school in Nashik to attend a personal development camp. It was there Purohit introduced him to Major Upadhay, now retired. The Matunga police may also booked Purohit in its case of keeping illegal firearms and helping Chaturvedi in preparing the fake military ID.
Purohit is currently in the custody of ATS (Pune unit), in a case of forgery. The Sarkar Wada police station in Nashik had registered a case of forgery and cheating against Purohit last Saturday. Yeshwant Date, who lodged the complaint of forgery, told police that Purohit had submitted fake documents to get an arm license for him. Date said he didn't know then that Purohit was cheating him.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3733665,prtpage-1.cms
'Purohit oversaw bomb-making'
20 Nov 2008, 0132 hrs IST, Pranati Mehra & Mateen Hafeez, TNN
MUMBAI: Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Abhinav Bharat national coordinator who allegedly participated in the Malegaon blast conspiracy, revealed during a narco-analysis on Tuesday that some Muslim boys had assembled the bomb that was planted in Malegaon on September 29. The blast killed six people.
Lt-Col Shrikant Purohit, Major (Retd) Ramesh Upadhyay and one Sudhakar Dange "inspected" the assembling of the bomb by the Muslim boys, Chaturvedi said during the test in Bangalore, probe officials told TOI on Wednesday.
Purohit and Upadhyay are in ATS custody and Chaturvedi is likely to be in ATS custody by Thursday. The Muslim boys took the bomb to Malegaon along with Ramji — an accused the ATS is yet to find — and planted it near the SIMI office with Ramji’s help, Chaturvedi is learnt to have said. Officials said he also said Ramji had brought the LML Freedom two-wheeler to Malegaon.
The two-wheeler was owned by Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and led the ATS to the sadhvi. The sadhvi claimed in her affidavit before the Nashik court on Monday that she sold it in 2004 to a man named Sunil Joshi for Rs 24,000. So, if the narco tests claims are to be believed, the ATS now has to establish the link between Joshi and Ramji. Purohit had said in his test on November 12 that some Malegaon Muslims had prepared the bomb and that the RDX was sourced from some Kashmiri Muslims in Pune. Chaturvedi was arrested by the Matunga police on November 4 on charges of carrying an illegal revolver and possessing a fake Deolali military cantonment identity card.
He was subjected to narco-analysis on Tuesday in Bangalore and, during the test, told forensic experts that he had arranged several meetings of Abhinav Bharat members at Indore, Panchmarhi and Jabalpur (MP), Faridabad and other places in Haryana and Gujarat as well as Deolali. The ATS, however, suspects that the blast conspiracy was hatched in these meetings.
Chaturvedi has reportedly revealed that some businessmen in Maharashtra were funding Abhinav Bharat. ‘‘But they may not have known what the money was being spent for,’’ Chaturvedi is learnt to have said. Purohit, too, was on Wednesday subjected to brain-mapping and polygraph tests at the Kalina forensic laboratory.
The ATS has so far arrested 10 persons, including Purohit, Major (Retd) Ramesh Upadhay, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Mahant Dayanand Pandey, for their alleged role in the blast that killed six persons. The ATS has claimed that Purohit masterminded the Malegaon blast.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3734249,prtpage-1.cms
Satyajit Joshi , Hindustan Times
Pune, November 20, 2008
First Published: 01:43 IST(20/11/2008)
Last Updated: 02:07 IST(20/11/2008)
CBI threatened to kill me: Purohit
Lt Col Srikant Prasad Purohit, one of the prime accused in the Malegaon blast case, told a Pune court on Wednesday that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Haryana police had threatened to kill him in an encounter.
Purohit was produced before Judicial Magistrate (First Class) G.G. Itkalkar here for allegedly procuring an arms licence for Pune-based Shirish Date by using fake documents. Purohit has been granted two days police custody by the court.
Contesting the forgery case, Purohit also claimed that he was falsely implicated in the Malegaon case, and anti-national elements, like the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), were pleased with his arrest.
In Delhi, a Union home ministry official, who did not wish to be identified, negated a public prosecutor’s charge in a Mumbai court that Purohit was involved in the Samjhauta Express blast. He said, “Investigations are on to gather evidence although news reports are making definitive statements on his involvement.”
Earlier, Purohit’s lawyer Srikant Shivde pointed out that Maharashtra anti-terrorists-squad (ATS) had not followed the Supreme Court guidelines while arresting him. Purohit’s family members, lawyer, friends or relatives were not informed about his arrest, his medical examination was not done and there was no entry of his arrest in any police station.
Shivde also alleged that the forgery case was fabricated as the ATS wanted more time to prepare a charge sheet under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.
Earlier, Shirish Date alleged that he had paid Purohit Rs 20,000 to obtain a licence for his revolver. But after learning of Purohit’s involvement in the Malegaon blast case, he decided to check the authenticity of his licence and discovered that fake documents had been submitted. He then voluntarily came forward to file the complaint.
(With inputs from Political Bureau)
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print.aspx?Id=6467866b-ba67-4ba6-9165-5b4bc638501a
Malegaon probe: ‘Purohit could even be eliminated by ATS’
AgenciesPosted online: Nov 19, 2008 at 2048 hrs
Pune, November 19: : Malegaon blast accused Lt Col S P Purohit was on Wednesday remanded in two days of police custody by a magisterial court in Pune in connection with a case of alleged forgery in procuring a gun from the military.
Purohit, who was escorted to Pune from Nashik by the ATS squad, has been charged under various sections of IPC for committing forgery in procuring a gun from Jammu and Kashmir for one Milind Date in 2003.
Opposing the prosecutions' plea for a seven-day remand for further investigations into the case, Srikant Shivde, appearing for the accused told the judge that the ATS was trying to implicate him in a false case by threatening Date.
The counsel alleged that Purohit, who had a distinguished service record in the army, was being victimised for political reasons and he could even be eliminated by ATS because he was in possession of Intelligence data of a sensitive nature pertaining to the SIMI and ISI operations, which could embarrass some quarters.
Public Prosecutor A V Ausekar, appearing on behalf of ATS, argued that police custody for the accused was required to trace his connections in Jammu and Kashmir from where he managed to procure the gun for complainant Date from the military quota under the fake designation of Major Date and for giving bogus address in the application form for securing the weapon.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story_print.php?storyid=387838
Purohit alleges victimisation due to 'political reasons'
Pune/Mumbai (PTI): Giving a new twist to the Malegaon blast case, prime accused Lt Col S P Purohit on Wednesday alleged in a Pune court that he was being victimised for "political reasons" as he was in possession of information pertaining to SIMI and ISI that could embarrass some quarters.
Purohit's counsel Srikant Shivde alleged that the officer was in possession of Intelligence data of a "sensitive nature" regarding SIMI and ISI operations and could even be eliminated.
A military intelligence officer, Purohit, 36, who was arrested on November 3 and is one of the 10 accused including Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, was today sent to two days of police remand by a magisterial court in connection with a case of alleged forgery in procuring a gun.
Purohit, who was escorted to Pune from Nashik by the ATS squad, has been charged under various sections of IPC for committing forgery in procuring the gun from Jammu and Kashmir for one Milind Date in 2003.
Opposing the prosecutions' plea for a seven-day remand for further investigations into the case, Shivde told the judge that the ATS was trying to implicate him in a false case by threatening Date.
Public Prosecutor A V Ausekar, appearing on behalf of ATS, argued that police custody for the accused was required to trace his connections in Jammu and Kashmir from where he managed to procure the gun for Date from the military quota under the fake designation of Major Date and for giving bogus address in the application form for securing the weapon.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/000200811200334.htm
Tuesday, November 18, 2008 | Email | Print |
ATS charge backfires
The Pioneer Edit Desk
‘Investigation’ descends into witch-hunt
The Anti-Terrorism Squad of Mumbai Police has virtually ended up with egg on its face. After planting stories in those sections of the media which are only too happy to publish and broadcast any cockamamie tale that portrays Hindu spiritual leaders as ogres, denigrates Hindu society and defames Hindu organisations, and claiming in a Nashik court that Lt Col Srikant Prasad Purohit had used RDX stolen from the Army for the terrorist attack on Samjhauta Express in February 2007, it has had to eat humble crow and do an about-turn. What the too-clever-by-half ATS personnel, who have eagerly offered their services to launch what increasingly appears to be a witch-hunt and be party to a political conspiracy of calumny and worse, thus raising questions about their integrity, forgot while hurling their latest startling allegation against Lt Col Purohit is that public memory may be short, but it is not short enough to fail to recall the nature of the terrorist strike on Samjhauta Express. The explosives use on that occasion were improvised incendiary devices and the Forensic Laboratory in Chandigarh had not found any traces of RDX in the debris — for that matter, nor were any traces of RDX found at the site of the Malegaon explosion. These details are on record, as are the findings of the subsequent investigation. No less stunningly crude is the ATS’s allegation that Lt Col Purohit misappropriated 60 kg of RDX from the Army: The charge could have been brushed aside as ridiculous had it not been for the sinister implications of what has been alleged. Sixty kilograms of RDX is not a small amount of explosive material; nobody can just walk away with it from an ammunitions store of the Army. That apart, what the ATS has shockingly alleged is that the Army as an institution is so callous that an officer can pilfer a huge amount of explosive material without the theft being noticed. This is outright slanderous and the ATS must be held accountable for portraying the Army as a rogue institution; to let the calumniators go scote-free would be tantamount to whitewashing their misdeed. This paper has in the past raised the question whether the ATS sees itself as being above the law of the land and answerable to none. Since it is neither, it must be brought to heel right now before its recklessness causes irreparable damage to reputations.
It is by now obvious that the ATS is dancing to the tune of its political masters who are unmoved by the enormity of the damage that is being inflicted by the spit-and-scoot tactics which have been the mainstay of the so-called ‘investigation’ into the explosion at Malegaon that killed six Muslims in September. The feverish pace at which the ATS is pursuing this case, spinning bizarre stories by the minute and planting them by the dozen in the media, is in sharp contrast to the non-response of Maharashtra’s Congress-NCP Government, endorsed by the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre, to the mass slaughter by jihadis who bombed commuter trains in Mumbai on July 11, 2006. The perpetrators of that crime are sitting pretty, possibly laughing themselves silly over the manner in which the ATS is making a mockery of what it claims is an ‘investigation’ into a ‘terrorist attack’. This paper believes that the law must take its own course and anybody found guilty of indulging in violence should be punished. But what is being witnessed is blatant abuse of law.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/135175/ATS-charge-backfires.html
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