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Political Notes

	July 03, 2006

Terrorist attack on Akshardham temple : Three sentenced to death



An Ahmedabad court has sentenced to death three persons in the case relating to the terrorist attack on the Akshardham temple in the city in 2002. Designated POTA Court Judge Sonia Gokani also awarded imprisonment from five years to life to three others. The judgment was delivered in camera inside the high-security Sabarmati Jail. The death sentences would be subject to confirmation by the Gujarat High Court.



It was the first major judgment of the designated court trying cases under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) in the aftermath of the communal riots in the State in 2002.



At least 33 persons were killed and 76 injured in an attack by two Pakistan-based terrorists on the famous Akshardham temple on September 24, 2002. Both the terrorists were gunned down in a night-long battle by NSG commandos. Police later arrested six people in this connection while declaring 26 others as absconders.



Adambhai Sulemanbhai Ajmeri, Abdul Qayuum Mufti Mohammad Mansuri and Chand Khan Sajjad Khan were sentenced to death.



Delivering the 500-page judgment in the presence of the accused, the judge described it as the “rarest of rare cases” as defined by the Supreme Court, and said the accused needed to be handed down “salutary punishment” to deter others from indulging in conspiracy against the country. She said the attack was planned in cold blood to take “revenge” for the death of Muslims in the communal riots in the state and to cause “maximum possible damage” to Hindus, for which the famous temple in the capital city was selected for the crime.





New Chief Election Commissioner takes over



N. Gopalaswamy took over as Chief Election Commissioner on Friday, June 30. He replaces B.B. Tandon who completed his term on that day. S.Y. Qureshi, an IAS officer has been appointed Election Commissioner. After taking over as CEC, Gopalaswamy said that the Election Commission’s top priority would be to bring out photo rolls for the entire country before the next general elections due in 2009.



The outgoing CEC B.B. Tandon, talking to newspersons before demitting office on June 29 said a new mechanism needs to be evolved for the appointment of Election Commissioners. This can be on the lines of the exercise for the National Human Rights Commission and the Central Vigilance Commission.



In the meantime, another Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, filed a counter in the Supreme Court on Friday, June 30 characterising as unfounded and misconceived the allegations made against him in a writ petition by the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh. In his petition, Jaswant Singh said Chawla was close to a political party, and therefore, partisan. The petition also alleges that Chawla ran private trusts into which contributions have been made by various political persons.





Monsoon session of Parliament from July 24



A six-week long Monsoon session of Parliament would begin from July 24 and last till August 30. Several important Bills are expected to be tabled during the session. The main focus is expected to be on the office of profit Bill which has been returned by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to Parliament for reconsideration. Sources say that the Government is planning to reintroduce the Bill in its original form. If it is passed by Parliament again, the President would have no option but to give his approval.



Another important Bill to be introduced during the session is expected to be the legislation to provide 27 per cent reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in institutions of higher learning. The Veerrappa Moily Committee is expected to submit its report on the matter by July 15, before the start of the Monsoon session.



State governments blamed for the spread of Naxalism



The Planning Commission of India has blamed the state governments for the spread of the Naxalite Movement in more and more backward districts. In its paper, Towards Faster and More Inclusive Growth, circulated for comments, the Commission says : “The divide between urban and rural India has become a truism for our times.” Exploring the fall out of this urban and rural divide, the draft went on to say that : “The backward districts of otherwise well performing states, present a dismal picture of intra-state imbalance and neglect.” The paper blames the state governments for not making socio-economic development either more equitable or accessible. “In all areas, despair is the result of visible failures of the state apparatus to ensure good governance and create an environment where the bulk of the people experience the benefits of development.”



In Andhra Pradesh, the police killed eight ultras belonging to the outlawed CPI (Maoist) in an encounter in Mehboobnagar district on Tuesday, June 27. Two leaders of the Naxalites were among those killed.







Broadcasting Bill to prevent monopolies



The Government has drafted the Broadcasting Services Regulatory Bill, 2006, empowering the authorities to prescribe restrictions to prevent cross-media monopoly. The Bill draws upon a 1995 judgment of the Supreme Court on airwaves which said that diversity of opinion was essential to enable the citizens to arrive at an informed judgment that could not be provided by a medium controlled by a monopoly, be it of the state or any individual/group/organization. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has proposed cross-media ownership restrictions to ensure plurality of views in a situation where leading media houses are trying to consolidate their hold over different segments of the media.



While some of the restrictions under consideration pertain to equity, others seek to put a ceiling on the reach/subscriber base of channels. No content provider and its associated companies can have more than 20 per cent share of paid up equity or any other form of share in another such entity that would allow it to have managerial or editorial control over the latter A similar provision is planned for broadcasting network service providers.



Also, no content provider for broadcasting will be allowed to have more than the prescribed share of the total number of channels in a city or a state. However, this condition will be subject to the overall ceiling of 15 per cent of the whole country. The same applies to broadcasting network service providers, only in their case the criteria will be subscriber-base.





Fresh eviction notices to VIPs



In the continuing saga of VIPs in the country treating public property as their own, fresh eviction notices have been issued to several politicians including senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh and former Deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha Najma Heptullah, to vacate the bungalows in New Delhi to which they are no longer entitled.



Sources say Najma Heptullah, who has stayed in an Akbar road bungalow for more than 20 years despite a lower entitlement, is fighting tooth and nail to continue staying there. Jaswant Singh has got two palatial bungalows, ostensibly allotted when he was External Affairs Minister to “entertain foreign dignitaries.’’ While, the NDA has been out of power for two years, yet Jaswant Singh is firmly entrenched in his two homes.



A senior official in the Rajya Sabha secretariat said politicians simply refuse to budge, and it is only the fear of the wrath of the Supreme Court that has emboldened the Director of Estates and the secretariat to issue fresh notices.



The notices have created a buzz with affected politicians crying vendetta. Heptullah, who received the notice while she was away to the United States, refused to comment. Senior officials reveal that the VIP residents have also made impressive additions in some cases. For instance in the case of Mahajan, Jacuzzis have been added to the bathroom and a huge theatre has been installed.



Take the case of another violator Samajwadi party leader Amar Singh. He has completely demolished the bungalow he was allotted in Lodhi estate and has built a grand palace instead. Under the rules, no structural alterations can be made in these heritage bungalows without the Cabinet’s permission.