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Cash for Questions scam : Move to revoke MPs’ expulsion

	August 28, 2006

Eight months after the Lok Sabha passed a resolution to expel 10 of its members for being implicated in a cash-forquestions scam, some of the political parties are doing a rethink on the issue, kick-starting consultations that might culminate in the revocation of their expulsion.



The political parties, most of whom had taken a high moral ground in the matter earlier, are engaged in negotiations about the mechanism how Parliament could “undo” what it had done in the case of such MPs.



Observers say the expelled MPs have been intensely lobbying with leaders of various political parties pressing for revocation of their expulsion.



Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, said an all-party meeting was held on August 25 to deliberate on the issue, which decided that a review committee could be set up to consider the matter if the expelled MPs withdraw their petitions from the Supreme Court challenging the decision of the House.



Dasmunsi said the BJP deputy leader, V K Malhotra, has also written to the Speaker, Somnath Chatterjee, on the issue. The BJP had suffered the maximum damage on account of this scam, exposed by a TV channel’s sting operation, losing five MPs, while the BSP lost 3 MPs and the Congress and the RJD each lost one member each.



Dasmunsi said he has already held talks with the BJP and JD(U) and would be consulting other political parties within a week over the proposal to constitute such a review committee if the MPs agree to withdraw their petitions. Explaining the condition of withdrawal of MPs’ petitions, the minister said, “how could such a process (review committee) be undertaken when the House’s earlier action is being challenged in the apex court.”



Asked whether it will be “morally just” to revoke the expulsion of MPs onsidered “guilty” by the House earlier, Dasmunsi refused to give any reply, repeating the line that the issue is yet to be determined. Earlier, he had said that Parliament was “supreme” and had the necessary powers to take any appropriate stand.



The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court is slated to hear the pleas of the MPs next month.







Terrorism not linked to any religion : PM



The Prime Minister has assured members of the Muslim community that he will soon convene a meeting of Chief Ministers to address their concerns at being targeted and wrongly implicated by law enforcement agencies probing terror related crimes. Addressing the concluding session of a conference on “Terrorism : Causes and Remedies”, organised by Muslim clerics and religious leaders in New Delhi on August 21, Dr. Manmohan Singh said that terrorism should not be linked with any religion in particular. He assured the gathering of taking concrete steps to dispel their doubts and fears of being at the receiving end of security and law enforcement agencies. Some speakers at the conference had said that in the Mumbai serial blasts, only Muslims were being picked up by the police.



“I have spoken to the Maharashtra Chief Minister. It is wrong to cast doubts only on the Muslim community during investigations. Terrorists have no religion. About 15 years ago when terrorism flared up in Punjab, Sikhs were meted out the same treatment. If the LTTE is involved in a terrorist-related crime, it does not mean that Tamils are involved. This kind of blame on the basis of religious affiliations is totally wrong. Police and security agencies have to take care not to cast doubts on the patriotism of Muslims or any other community,” Dr. Singh said.



Striking an emotional chord with the ulemas and addressing the gathering in chaste Urdu, Dr. Singh said that he identified with the concerns and agonising experiences of the community and assured that the Government steps to address these concerns would come sooner than expected. At the same time, the Prime Minister used the opportunity to request the ulemas to tell the Muslim youth to choose the right path. “Tell the youth that they should neither be lured by anyone nor pay heed to any kind of provocation. They should set their eyes on getting good education and participate in the nation’s progress,” he said.



Terming attempts to label Muslims as “terrorists” as a “cheap and petty conspiracy” designed to provoke them, Dr. Singh asserted that a “terrorist has no caste, no religion and no language.” On a note of caution, he said that “terrorists are our common enemies and we need to remain vigilant against them.”



While favouring the unique way of imparting education by madrassas, the Prime Minister said the time has come to modernise their ways of educating young minds.



The Prime Minister referred to the backwardness of Muslim women in the field of education. Deputy Chairperson of Rajya Sabha K. Rehman Khan, Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahmed also interacted with the ulemas.



On the first day of the conference, several speakers took objection to the print and electronic media painting Muslims with a single brush, leading to misgivings and giving rise to a perception that the entire community was tilting towards “Islamic terrorism” and “Jihad.”



“Do not treat Muslims as terrorists” was the fervent plea made by Muslim clerics.



The conference was also an attempt to initiate a dialogue with the media which, they claimed, only picked up “negative trends and news” of Muslims. They complained that the national press ignored their interests.



Voicing his opposition to exercising Government “control” over the media, Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said the media in India was very powerful and responsible. He favoured using “persuasion” with the media rather than trying to exercise control over it.



The Minister said terrorists were working with a two-fold objective: to bring down India’s economic power by terror strikes at vital installations and commercial establishments, create rift and cause communal strife. “In both cases, India will be weakened. We have to frustrate their designs,” he said.





ISI responsible for encouraging terrorist outfits



In the meantime, Home Minister Shivraj Patil has said that Pakistan’s ISI has been providing directions and logistics support to terrorist groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, the Upper House of Parliament on Wednesday, August 23, he said ISI has also been rewarding terrorists for attacks on security forces and political leaders. He pointed out that the neighbouring country has failed to dismantle terrorist training camps despite being given documents pointing out their locations. Observers say that the Home Minister’s statement is an indication of the growing chill in India-Pakistan relations after the Mumbai blasts. His plain speaking is in contrast to the reluctance of the Government to name Pakistan and its pro-terrorist actions till a few months ago. Mumbai Police gunned down a suspected terrorist in a shoot down in central Mumbai early on August 22. He belonged to Pakistan.