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Political Notes

	February 18, 2008

Mamata Bannerjee dumps the NDA



Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Bannerjee has finally said that her party is no longer with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). At the same time in a bid to expand her alliance, Mamata Bannerjee has said that she would like what she called ‘true Leftist’ parties to join her bandwagon. She said she is only opposed to the CPI(M) which was no longer a genuine Leftist party, as she put it. At a conference of her party workers in South 24 Parganas on February 10, Mamata Bannerjee said the Trinamool Congress has no more anything to do with the NDA and would neither join hands with the Congress. She said, “We are now strong enough and will fight all elections alone.” Explaining why she dumped the NDA, Mamata Bannerjee said the disastrous defeat of the 2004 Lok Sabha polls has been caused by association with the saffron brigade.



Tiger population cut by more than half



The final tiger census figures released in New Delhi on February 12 indicate that there has been a sharp dip in the number of tigers in the country. There are now only 1,411 Tigers as compared to 3,508 in 1997.



Areas like Bandhavgarh and Ranthambore, once rich reserves of tigers, have seen the sharpest dip in numbers. The report calls for urgent conservation measures in these areas.



Releasing the final figures after surveying 17 parks, the government refused to see its dark implications. Rajesh Gopal, Member Secretary, Project Tiger said, “the assessment shows that though the tiger has suffered due to direct poaching, loss of quality habitat, and loss of its prey, there is still hope.”



The government has declared eight more new tiger reserves. Gopal said an area of around 31,111 sq km of tiger habitat has been notified/identified by tiger states as per provisions of the Wildlife (Protection Act).





Zero tolerance for hijackers



Reports say that the UPA government plans to amend the Anti-Hijacking Act 1982 to provide for a no-negotiation policy and death penalty for hijackers. The new measures would treat hijacking as an act of aggression and entail directions to all domestic airports to promptly immobilize a hijacked plane if it lands.



"If at all negotiations take place, it will only be tactical - aimed at preventing loss of life or bringing the incident to a swift closure," a source said, indicating that the government would not want a capitulation like the one witnessed in 1999 when three extremely dangerous terrorists were released.



The new measures flow from the anti-hijacking policy cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security in August 2005. It allows shooting down of a "hostile plane if there is conclusive evidence that it is likely to be used as a missile to blow up strategic establishments", on the lines of the 9/11 Al-Qaida attacks in the US in 2001.



The policy recognises that hijacked aircraft can be transformed into a "hostile" entity.



The new amendment, making the law more stringent, has proposed death sentence for hijackers who use or seek to use the aircraft as a "missile".







Jihadis had eye on BSE



Six terrorists involved in the fidayeen attack on the CRPF camp in Rampur on January 1 have been arrested, Uttar Pradesh police said on Feb. 10. They said three of the militants had plans to leave for Mumbai to carry out strikes at the Bombay Stock Exchange and other places.



The arrests started when three militants were picked up in Rampur. Following leads from them, three more militants were arrested near Charbagh railway station in Lucknow. A special task force arrested the militants, believed to be members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba.



Of the six, four were directly responsible for the Rampur attack, in which seven CRPF jawans were killed. The other two had provided critical information.



DGP Vikram Singh said Sabauddin alias Abu Qasim, arrested in Lucknow, was also responsible for the attack on the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, on December 29, 2005. One scientist was killed in the attack.



ADG (crime and law and order) Brij Lal said the militants had planned major strikes in Mumbai's Churchgate area and the BSE. An Army convoy that regularly passed on the Rampur-Bareilly route was also on the hitlist.





RJD MP gets life-term for murder



A Special Court in Patna has sentenced controversial RJD MP from Madhepura, Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav to imprisonment for life in the Ajit Sarkar murder case. Special CBI judge B.M. Srivastava also convicted former Independent MLA from Govindganj Rajan Tiwari, besides an accomplice Anil Yadav in the same case, awarding life-term to both.



Pappu Yadav was brought to Patna from Delhi’s high-security Tihar jail on the orders of the court. Lawyers present in the courtroom said that the high profile MP’s face immediately turned sad and sullen once the special judge pronounced the sentence. “He even pleaded leniency on the ground that he had already suffered enough pain during his stay in the jail,” an advocate said.



The special judge convicted all the three accused under Section 302 (murder), 120b (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and Section 27 of the Arms Act, besides imposing a fine of Rs 10,000 on each.



The firebrand CPI(M) MLA from Purnea was murdered in Subash Nagar in Purnea along with a party worker and his driver on June 14, 1998. The murder of Sarkar, who had carved a political niche for himself in Purnea and adjoining areas, evoked a huge public outcry, forcing the state government to order a CBI probe into the case.