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Political Notes

	May 23, 2005

Sharad Yadav blames Gujarat riots for NDA’s defeat



Janata Dal United leader Sharad Yadav has become the latest in the NDA to blame the Narendra Modi Government’s handling of the Gujarat riots for the defeat of the alliance in last year’s general elections. In an interview with a magazine in New Delhi, he said the post-Godhra riots and their mishandling were one of the main factors of the NDA’s defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.

He also made vocal his displeasure with the NDA regime’s disinvestment policy and blamed it for the Alliance’s poll debacle. Asked whether the BJP should have removed Modi from the Chief Minister’s post, he said that is an internal matter of the party. But Gujarat was a major cause for the NDA’s defeat and even in the BJP there is a churning of thoughts on the issue,” he said.



Advani asks PM not to be vindictive



BJP president L.K. Advani has warned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh against depending upon Left’s support and adopting a vindictive policy towards the functionaries of the NDA. Addressing the national conference of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Advani said BJP is willing to support the Government in any reform for economic progress. Advani said, “In the national interest, I wish to caution Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that your dependence on Communist support will prove to be a liability for anything good you may wish to do.” The first thing India must do to achieve, double-digit inclusive growth was to marginalise the ideological and political manoeuvres as their policies would deliver neither inclusive growth nor double-digit growth.

Reacting to Advani’s remarks, the Congress described them as unsolicited advice. Congress spokesman Anand Sharma called the remarks politically loaded. He said it is for the Congress to determine the nature and extent of its association with the Left parties.

The CPIM described Advani’s remarks as a diatribe against the Communists and said that he appeared to be rattled by the Left parties demand for a CBI probe into the Centaur hotels sale, Politburo member Sitaram Yeuchry said the BJP could not come to terms with its defeat in last year’s Lok Sabha elections and hence it stayed away from Parliament in the Budget session. The politburo in a statement said that Advani’s advice came from a man who manipulated the CBI to free himself from the Ayodhya demolition case.

CPI national secretary D. Raja said that Advani is heading a party which had contempt for the people and democratic principles. By boycotting parliamentary proceedings, the NDA had betrayed the interests of the people.



Uma Bharati meets Advani



Sidelined BJP leader from Madhya Pradesh, Uma Bharati, has met party president L.K. Advani, in a bid for rehabilitation. She evaded questions later on whether a deal has been worked out and she would be back as a general secretary. Observers say that the meeting appeared to be a step in a direction which could finally lead to some form of compromise. Uma Bharati had been expelled from the BJP for openly defying the party president and walking out of a meeting in the glare of cameras.



New Chief Election Commissioner takes over



B.B. Tandon has taken over as the 14th Chief Election Commissioner, succeeding T.S. Krishnamurthy. Reading out a statement soon after, he said an allegation made by an IAS officer, Saptrishi against the Commission members was a deliberate attempt to undermine the credibility of the Election Commission. He said the allegation will not deter the Commission from discharging its functions effectively.

Outgoing Chief Election Commissioner T.S. Krishnamurthy expressed unhappiness that the credibility of the Election Commission’s decisions is being questioned. He said the attempt appears to be to weaken the Commission.

Navin Chawla took over as Election Commissioner the same day B.B. Tandon became the CEC.



Staines killer escapes gallows



The Orissa High Court has commuted the death sentence awarded to Dara Singh, the main accused in the murder of Australian missionary, Graham Staines and his two sons to life imprisonment. Another accused in the case also got life imprisonment. But the high court acquitted eleven others who had been sentenced to life by the Sessions court.

A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Surjit Barman Roy held that Dara Singh cannot be held individually liable for the killings though he can be held liable vicariously along with others.

Both the CBI and Dara Singh are reported to be considering going in appeal to the Supreme Court against the high court decision.



Five get life term in anti-Sikh riots case



Two decades after five persons burnt to death a man during the anti-Sikh riots in the national capital after the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination, a Delhi Court has sentenced all of them to life imprisonment. The incident took place on November 1, 1984 when the five dragged the deceased out of his home in Nangloi, in West Delhi, and set him ablaze. Nearly 2000 Sikhs were killed in the riots that broke out after Indira Gandhi’s assassination. She was killed by a couple of Sikhs in her Guard.

Sikh groups have welcomed the court order sentencing five persons to life imprisonment. They said they welcomed the order even though it was justice delayed.



AIADMK on winning spree in Tamil Nadu



The All India Anna DMK has retained two Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu, byelections for which were held earlier this month. The party won by huge margins against the DMK, which was backed by the entire Opposition. The victories are special for the All India Anna DMK as the Election Commission had kept a strict vigil to ensure a free and fair poll. The byelection victories have come as a morale booster for the party which was routed in the Lok Sabha elections just one year back.

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said : “It is a happy augury for 2006 (Assembly elections). The opposition was under the illusion that the presence of seven parties was enough to win elections, but the people are with me.” Her decision to roll back some of the unpopular fiscal decisions and toning up the administration after Lok Sabha results seem to have gone down well with the people.

But for someone who is politically isolated, the wins will open new doors and cause anxiety in the rival camp. The BJP might be tempted to repair its ties with the AIADMK after having over-reacted over the Sankaracharya’s arrest, though Jayalalithaa is unlikely to respond knowing that the BJP is a non-entity in the state and its presence can turn away other parties.