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Controversy over raising Godhra issue during Assembly elections |
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With the Banerjee committee report coming into public domain just a few
days before the Assembly elections in Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana, a controversy has arisen over its use as a political issue during the polls. The Election Commission has said that the report should not be communalized, nor should it be used to make unruly personal attacks violating the model code of conduct. Chief Election Commissioner T.S. Krishnamurthy has clarified his initial remarks to say that he has not put any ban on parties or politicians talking about the report. Talking to reporters in New Delhi on Januray 22, he said the Commission is not against a debate or discussion on the Godhra report. Asked specifically about RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav’s assertion that the Godhra report would form part of his party’s election plank, Krishnamurthi said, “Nobody has been stopped from talking about the report”. Asked whether his clarification meant that Lalu Prasad Yadav could use the report while the Bhartiya Janata Party could not, Krishnamurthy said he would not make any distinction but will interfere when it is absolutely necessary.
The Chief Election Commissioner urged the Government to take immediate action on the proposals submitted by the Commission to prevent criminalisation of politics. He said those against whom chargesheets have been framed well ahead of the elections should be prevented from contesting. Krishnamurthy said he is worried at the impunity with which criminal elements arte moving about freely in some areas in this country, threatening to spread fear in the minds of the voters. “Non bailable warrants are pending execution in large numbers in the States going to the polls. The nexus between the criminal elements and political leaders is a daunting challenge in the conduct of elections”. Krishnamurthy also put forth a proposal that except two or three, other ministers in a State should resign two months before the elections in the interest of ensuring a free and fair poll.
The BJP on the other hand, has been demanding de-recognition of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal, RJD, for what it calls politicizing the interim report of the Banerjee committee. BJP Vice President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the RJD chief has been misusing the Banerjee report to divert people’s attention from his government’s mis-governance, corruption and backwardness of Bihar. He said in the 15 years of RJD misrule in the state, the minorities suffered the most economically. He said 50 per cent of the minorities in the State are living below the poverty line and 45 per cent of them are illiterate.
Meanwhile, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has refuted charges by the BJP about his alleged close relationship with Justice Umesh Chandra Banerjee, who investigated the Godhra incident. In a statement issued in Kolkata, Somnath Chatterjee said he had nothing to do with Banerjee’s appointment or his interim report. The Speaker said he had come to know of Justice Banerjee’s appointment only when the Railway Minister made a statement in Parliament on this. Chatterjee said it is unfortunate that totally unfounded and baseless charges have been made involving him and a well known former judge.
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