Ugly defence of the indefensible
The Hindu : the day after advani supported Pragya Thakur : 20-11-2008
When someone takes to offence as a form of defence of the unjustifiable, the outcome turns nasty. The Bharatiya Janata Party, which was on the political offensive over the last decade on an anti-Islamist terrorism plank, is clearly shaken by the revelations of the role of extremist Hindutva elements in the Malegaon bomb explosions and some other terrorist attacks. As news broke of the alleged involvement of Sadhvi Pragnya Singh Thakur in the bomb blasts, BJP leaders first tried to distance themselves from her. On October 30, party president Rajnath Singh said he was embarrassed to find that he had been photographed with her. The next day the party’s prime-minister-in-waiting, L.K. Advani, took the politically correct stand that the sadhvi should be punished if found guilty. All this changed quickly enough with the Hindutva command centre, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, deciding to back her to the hilt. Mr. Singh went over the top, claiming that those who believed in “cultural nationalism” — a euphemism for the sangh parivar’s highly toxic communal politics — could never take to terror and voicing his suspicion of a frame-up. But more significantly, the heavyweight Mr. Advani spelt out a new line, condemning the “barbaric treatment” of a “spiritual person,” seeking a judicial probe into her dramatised allegations of torture, and assailing “the manner in which unsubstantiated allegations have been made against serving Army personnel [Lt. Col. Shrikant Purohit].” No one can miss the irony of such statements coming from the top leaders of a party that has tried to position itself as India’s foremost adversary of terrorism. Indeed the BJP, which attacked the Jamia Millia Islamia’s offer of legal assistance to two Muslim students accused of involvement in bomb blasts, now has no qualms about supporting alleged terrorists of the saffron kind. Every accused is constitutionally entitled to legal assistance but political support to those accused of serious crimes, especially terrorist acts, is an entirely different matter.
Clearly, the BJP’s stance on Malegaon has nothing to do with the principle that a person must be presumed innocent unless proved guilty. It is a stance of blanket opposition to the law of the land bringing to justice sangh parivar elements accused of terrorist crimes. The double standard aside, the BJP is guilty of seeking to politicise, pressure, and derail the legal investigation of the Malegaon explosions and the conspiracy behind them by Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad. It is particularly shocking that Mr. Advani, a former Union Home Minister, going on nothing but the hysterical words of an accused, charged the ATS with being politically motivated and unprofessional in its investigation. The parivar has a track record of applauding the ATS whenever it acted against alleged Islamist terrorists. Blinded by its communal agenda, the main opposition party has gone dangerously over the top in the cause of Hindutva.
The Hindu : the day after advani supported Pragya Thakur : 20-11-2008
When someone takes to offence as a form of defence of the unjustifiable, the outcome turns nasty. The Bharatiya Janata Party, which was on the political offensive over the last decade on an anti-Islamist terrorism plank, is clearly shaken by the revelations of the role of extremist Hindutva elements in the Malegaon bomb explosions and some other terrorist attacks. As news broke of the alleged involvement of Sadhvi Pragnya Singh Thakur in the bomb blasts, BJP leaders first tried to distance themselves from her. On October 30, party president Rajnath Singh said he was embarrassed to find that he had been photographed with her. The next day the party’s prime-minister-in-waiting, L.K. Advani, took the politically correct stand that the sadhvi should be punished if found guilty. All this changed quickly enough with the Hindutva command centre, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, deciding to back her to the hilt. Mr. Singh went over the top, claiming that those who believed in “cultural nationalism” — a euphemism for the sangh parivar’s highly toxic communal politics — could never take to terror and voicing his suspicion of a frame-up. But more significantly, the heavyweight Mr. Advani spelt out a new line, condemning the “barbaric treatment” of a “spiritual person,” seeking a judicial probe into her dramatised allegations of torture, and assailing “the manner in which unsubstantiated allegations have been made against serving Army personnel [Lt. Col. Shrikant Purohit].” No one can miss the irony of such statements coming from the top leaders of a party that has tried to position itself as India’s foremost adversary of terrorism. Indeed the BJP, which attacked the Jamia Millia Islamia’s offer of legal assistance to two Muslim students accused of involvement in bomb blasts, now has no qualms about supporting alleged terrorists of the saffron kind. Every accused is constitutionally entitled to legal assistance but political support to those accused of serious crimes, especially terrorist acts, is an entirely different matter.
Clearly, the BJP’s stance on Malegaon has nothing to do with the principle that a person must be presumed innocent unless proved guilty. It is a stance of blanket opposition to the law of the land bringing to justice sangh parivar elements accused of terrorist crimes. The double standard aside, the BJP is guilty of seeking to politicise, pressure, and derail the legal investigation of the Malegaon explosions and the conspiracy behind them by Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad. It is particularly shocking that Mr. Advani, a former Union Home Minister, going on nothing but the hysterical words of an accused, charged the ATS with being politically motivated and unprofessional in its investigation. The parivar has a track record of applauding the ATS whenever it acted against alleged Islamist terrorists. Blinded by its communal agenda, the main opposition party has gone dangerously over the top in the cause of Hindutva.
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TOI EDITORIAL COMMENT | Mind Your Words
20 Nov 2008
Recent statements by senior BJP leaders on the Malegaon blasts probe are now a bit alarming. On Tuesday, the party's PM-designate and the nation's leader of the opposition, L K Advani, defended Pragya Thakur, a sangh parivar activist facing charges of terrorism. He accused the police of bias against Pragya and army personnel and called for changes in the anti-terror squad (ATS), which arrested Pragya and others. His party president, Rajnath Singh, went a step further and spoke darkly of civil war. Do these leaders understand the import of their statements?
The ATS probe is far from complete and political parties must not try to scuttle it. If the conclusions of the probe are unconvincing, they can be challenged in courts. Any other method to influence or disrupt the investigation is simply unacceptable. The nation expects senior politicians, like L K Advani and Rajnath Singh, to respect the sanctity of the institutional process and not cast aspersions on investigators. Both Advani and Rajnath have politicised the stray case of an errant army officer by claiming to speak on behalf of army personnel. As we have argued in these columns, the armed forces have an exemplary record as an apolitical institution. Political parties must respect that record. The threat to subvert terror probes will appeal to sangh parivar activists but such talk by leaders of the country's largest opposition party may seriously hurt public institutions.
Extremists in the sangh parivar have already upped the ante by attributing communal undertones to the terror probe. A meet of sadhus in Panipat last Sunday decided to launch a mass movement against the "vilification of Hindu monks and army personnel". The talk of civil war by the likes of Rajnath to stop possible arrests of sangh parivar activists can give political legitimacy to such blatant communal mobilisation. India can't afford such an outcome.
Countries ravaged by civil war surround India. This country too could have gone their way but for a relatively responsible political leadership — including the BJP's thus far — that to a large extent respected the independence of public institutions. And the armed forces, unlike in our neighbourhood, always shunned politics and took orders from the executive. Surely, leaders like Advani and Rajnath would want this state of affairs to continue. They, therefore, must ask themselves whether loose talk will do any good to this nation. A strong state is one that has mature politicians. Mature politicians think before they speak.
20 Nov 2008
Recent statements by senior BJP leaders on the Malegaon blasts probe are now a bit alarming. On Tuesday, the party's PM-designate and the nation's leader of the opposition, L K Advani, defended Pragya Thakur, a sangh parivar activist facing charges of terrorism. He accused the police of bias against Pragya and army personnel and called for changes in the anti-terror squad (ATS), which arrested Pragya and others. His party president, Rajnath Singh, went a step further and spoke darkly of civil war. Do these leaders understand the import of their statements?
The ATS probe is far from complete and political parties must not try to scuttle it. If the conclusions of the probe are unconvincing, they can be challenged in courts. Any other method to influence or disrupt the investigation is simply unacceptable. The nation expects senior politicians, like L K Advani and Rajnath Singh, to respect the sanctity of the institutional process and not cast aspersions on investigators. Both Advani and Rajnath have politicised the stray case of an errant army officer by claiming to speak on behalf of army personnel. As we have argued in these columns, the armed forces have an exemplary record as an apolitical institution. Political parties must respect that record. The threat to subvert terror probes will appeal to sangh parivar activists but such talk by leaders of the country's largest opposition party may seriously hurt public institutions.
Extremists in the sangh parivar have already upped the ante by attributing communal undertones to the terror probe. A meet of sadhus in Panipat last Sunday decided to launch a mass movement against the "vilification of Hindu monks and army personnel". The talk of civil war by the likes of Rajnath to stop possible arrests of sangh parivar activists can give political legitimacy to such blatant communal mobilisation. India can't afford such an outcome.
Countries ravaged by civil war surround India. This country too could have gone their way but for a relatively responsible political leadership — including the BJP's thus far — that to a large extent respected the independence of public institutions. And the armed forces, unlike in our neighbourhood, always shunned politics and took orders from the executive. Surely, leaders like Advani and Rajnath would want this state of affairs to continue. They, therefore, must ask themselves whether loose talk will do any good to this nation. A strong state is one that has mature politicians. Mature politicians think before they speak.
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