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Political Notes |
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Punjab : Militancy raises its head again
The arrest of Babbar Khalsa militant Jagtar Singh Hawara has revealed that the outfit is again trying to relaunch its dreaded terror campaign in Punjab and give rise to a new phase of militancy. Delhi Police Commissioner K.K. Paul said in New Delhi on June 8 that initial interrogation of the terrorist revealed that the outfit had possibly drawn up a hit-list that included senior politicians, bureaucrats and religious leaders. Hawara and his associates were arrested when the police was investigation recent blasts in cinema houses in the national capital. The prime target of the militants was said to be K.P.S. Gill, the former Punjab Police chief credited with rooting out terror from the state. Other leaders on the hit-list included Congressmen Jagdish Tytler, H.K.L. Bhagat and Sajjan Kumar. Hawara and his associates were arrested on June 8 when their vehicle was intercepted after a chase in north-west Delhi.
Another development in Punjab has created the apprehension that the ghost of militancy may come to haunt Punjab again. The Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) which manages gurudwaras in several parts of the country, has said that it would build a tower (Shahid-e-Minar) in memory of those who were killed during Operation Blue Star in 1984. To flush out militants, troops had stormed the Golden Temple in Amritsar during the Operation. Several militants including Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, had occupied a part of the Temple at that time to carry out their militant activities.
BSP to woo the Brahmins
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), dominated by dalits (scheduled castes) has decided to make a strong bid for getting the support of the Brahmin community (upper caste Hindus). In this connection, the party held a Brahmin Maha Rally in Lucknow on June 9. Addressing the rally, BSP president Mayawati said her party had never been against the upper class communities or the Hindu religion. Observers say that the BJP which traditionally enjoys Brahmin support will have cause to worry because of the BSP campaign.
Gujarat rejects POTA panel’s recommendations
The Gujarat Government has rejected the Central POTA Review Committee’s
recommendation that charges under POTA should be dropped against all the accused in the Godhra train carnage case. The state Government told the special POTA court in Ahmedabad that in its view, there is more than sufficient material evidence to attract the provisions of Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) in the Godhra case. Detailed arguments on the issue would be heard by the Court on June 13. The Godhra train carnage had led to large scale riots in Gujarat in which hundreds of people were killed.
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