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Political Notes |
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Supreme Court against unauthorized occupants of Govt. houses
The Supreme Court has lashed out at politicians of all hues and other VIPs allegedly occupying illegally Government accommodation in the capital and three other Metros. The list of unauthorized occupants filed in the apex court includes the names of Bihar Governor Buta Singh, former CPI(M) general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and Jaswant Singh, and three general secretaries of the Congress.
“Buta Singh is the Governor of Bihar. What is he doing here ? How can he be occupying a house here. Throw him out,” a Bench comprising Justices B.N. Aggarwal and A.K. Mathur observed while perusing the list provided by the Centre on unauthorized occupation of Government accommodation. The name of Buta Singh who has been an unauthorized occupant of 9, Lodi Estate since March 6, 2004, topped the list.
The court criticised the Centre’s failure to implement the provisions of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971. “The ordinary law for eviction has become (an) utter failure,” the Bench said, adding : “The persons who laid down the laws are violating them....”
Uttar Pradesh : Samajwadi Party demands Governor’s recall
Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh met President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in New Delhi on October 26 and urged him to recall Uttar Pradesh Governor T.V. Rajeshwar. He alleged that the Governor has been partisan and partial. Speaking to mediapersons later, Amar Singh lashed out at Congress president Sonia Gandhi and alleged that the Congress treats State Governors as its stooges.
The confrontation between the Mulayam Singh Yadav Government and the Governor hit a new high after clashes in Mau on Dussehra. Despite the state Government’s plea that politicians and constitutional heads should not visit the district, the Governor Rao went to Mau on October 22, 10 days after violence broke out.,
The high-profile visit was prompted by a keen interest shown by the Prime Minister’s Office in keeping the communal tension under control.
Governor Rajeshwar on his part called a Press conference in Lucknow where he said that his advising the state Government does not amount to interference. He said the Governor’s job is to advise the Government on whatever he thinks is necessary.
Meanwhile, Mukhtar Ansari, an Independent MLA, facing allegations of provoking clashes, has surrendered to the authorities.
The situation in Mau is now reported to be returning to normalcy with relaxation of the curfew in a phased manner.
CBI to probe ten anti-Sikh riot cases
The CBI has started scrutinizing the report of the Nanavati Commission which probed the 1984 anti-Sikh riots to re-investigate 10 cases against Congress MPs Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler and another party leader. A CBI spokesman said in New Delhi on October 26 that the CBI has formed teams for detailed scrutiny of the Commission’s report and affidavits. Jagdish Tytler resigned as Union Minister after the report was tabled in Parliament.
H.K.L. Bhagat is dead
A former strongman of the Congress in Delhi and one of the accused in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, H.K.L. Bhagat died in New Delhi on October 29 after a long illness. A close associate of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, Bhagat (82) was indicted in the Nanavati Commission report recently for his alleged involvement in the riots. Termed the “uncrowned king of Delhi politics”, he was a dominating force in the faction ridden Congress in the 1980s and early 1990s.
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