CAG Reports on Allocation and Pricing of Coal-Bearing Areas, 2G Spectrum: Whither Growing Corruption in India?

Reactions to recent reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India on the allocation and pricing of coal-bearing areas and second-generation telecommunications spectrum (2G Spectrum) are reminiscent of the well-known parable of the blind men and the elephant. Depending on the political persuasion and ideological inclination of the person concerned, the reports are either futile exercises in exaggeration or an important endeavor to hold those in power and authority accountable for their actions.

The reports are either consciously aimed at embarrassing the government using dubious data and specious assumptions or these are attempts to bring about greater transparency in public finance and curb corruption in high places. Everything depends on which side you are on. The CAG has repeatedly talked about “presumptive” or “notional” losses. The government, in turn, argues that the losses are not real but hypothetical and that the auditors of the constitutional body need more than a few basic lessons in mathematics and economics. So what if the coal has not been mined?

The fact is simply that the coal acreages no longer belong to the government. Forget local inhabitants or indigenous communities, the coal blocks now belong to particular privately controlled companies, some of whose promoters and directors have rather close links with relatives of certain Congress leaders. Coal, incidentally, is a subject of the federal government.

In both the “Coalgate” and the 2G scam reports, what the CAG has stated is that there was inaction by those at the top, including Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram. Both predictably protest their innocence. Despite the clean chit given to the finance minister by the Supreme Court on August 24, what cannot be disputed is that he knew very well what the disgraced Former Communications Minister Andimuthu Raja had been doing (he, in fact, says that he did not approve of some of his actions).

In fact, it was Dr Singh’s own government’s ministers and bureaucrats (including those in his office) — and not just those representing the state governments of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Orissa — who ensured that his advice to have competitive bidding for coal blocks was not operationalized for more than six years.

Dr Singh, Chidambaram and their supporters have provided long, detailed and convoluted explanations about why what should have happened — auction of coal blocks and spectrum — did not happen. In both instances, previous governments (especially those run by the NDA) have been blamed. Two wrongs do not make a right.

Prime Minister’s Reaction

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took “full responsibility” for the coal allocations made under a policy in existence since 1993. Amid slogan-shouting by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) the prime minister has told Parliament that there is no impropriety in coal allocations. The CAG report is “flawed” as the auditor’s methodology to calculate the loss is questionable, he says and argues that it is not the CAG’s job to suggest a change of policy from allocation to auction of natural resources and tell the government to overrule state objections in changing the law.

Speaking both inside and outside Parliament, Dr Singh said he was not running away from taking “full responsibility” for decisions taken by the coal ministry when he had held the portfolio himself. He, however, declared that the allegation of impropriety “is without any basis and is unsupported by facts”.

As the uproar by the BJP on the floor of the two Houses continued for the fifth day in a row, the Prime Minister read out his statement amid the din. After reading a few paragraphs, he laid the statement on the table. Daring the BJP to hold a debate in the House to let the country judge the truth, he declared: “We have a very strong and credible case as the CAG’s observations are clearly disputable.” As BJP continued to create a ruckus, both Houses saw repeated adjournments, and no legislative businesses could be transacted.

Unconvincing Remarks

The prime minister’s statement presented in the Parliament and the remarks he made to the media outside the Parliament on the controversial coal block allotments are as unconvincing as the stand that his party has adopted since the scam broke out in public few months ago.

In fact, it is because Dr Singh wants to gloss over the salient aspects of the charges that have been leveled against him that he has tried to present the image of a ‘combative' leader; he took on the comptroller and auditor general of India for alleging “impropriety” which was “without basis and unsupported by facts”. Well, that is not for Dr Singh to decide since there is the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which will study CAG's observations and submit its report to the Parliament on the merits of those observations. 

The prime minister does refer to his government's resolve to ‘challenge' in the PAC the findings of the country's premier audit organization, but then we also know that the Congress has scant regard for what is one of Parliament's most important panels. The obnoxious manner in which members of the party, assisted by some of their allies, had conducted themselves when the PAC was hearing CAG's 2G Spectrum scam report, is still fresh in the minds of the people.

The prime minister pats his own back by saying that it was the UPA government which “for the first time conceived the idea of making allocations through the competitive bidding route in June 2004.” But that unfortunately is not the point here. What happened thereafter is. Dr Singh swiftly dumped the auction idea and cleared a proposal to dole out coal blocks to private parties at vastly under-priced rates. By the time the government returned to its original ‘concept' of putting in place a mechanism for competitive bidding — and it took the regime over two years to do so — more than 140 coal blocks located in various States had been sold down the river to private players, many of whom have not even till date begun mining the resource.

BJP's Flawed Reasoning

After disrupting the winter session, BJP is at it again, insisting that the prime minister must resign for the so-called Coalgate scam before the Parliament is allowed to function. Led by senior leaders like Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj in the presence of LK Advani and cheered on by Nitin Gadkari from outside, it rejects a debate in Parliament as the matter will merely be talked. A non-confidence motion is, however, ruled out as the numbers do not favor them. Meanwhile, disruption of Parliament is being paraded as a national duty. The argument is that similar disruption alone forced the resignation of Raja and Maran following the CAG’s 2G Spectrum scam report. And if Raja could resign as Minister for Telcom, Dr Singh must resign as he held additional charge of the Coal Ministry during the years when Coalgate occurred.

In the Coalgate matter, four Opposition-led state governments (Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Rajasthan, and West Bengal) and Jharkhand had opposed coal auctions as proposed by the Centre and recommended allocations of coal blocks in their states for local power and cement manufacture. Taking federal sensitivities into account, the federal government did not press its case for open auctions, a factor indirectly noted with some approval by the chief justice of India in a lecture delivered in Delhi recently.

Instead of allowing the Parliament to debate the matter and send it to the Public Accounts Committee for detailed scrutiny before the House takes a final view on the matter, the Jaitley argument is that the party is entitled to trump the whole, thus enabling a strident minority in the House to impose its will on the majority, and that too without the requisite parliamentary debate and investigation, in violation of every rule and canon of democratic process and conscience. This is the kernel of the matter, not the bogus, political spiel spewed out by the BJP and other persons before TV channels looking for meaningless but high-TRP-rated gladiatorial fights night after night.

Jaitley says “Parliamentary obstructionism … is a weapon to be used in the rarest of the rare cases.” But, unfortunately, the BJP seems bent on disrupting the Parliament constantly.

Assessment

It can be said that the UPA government’s strategy to hold the ground until winter sets in is neither politically prudent nor morally defensible. If one were to accept the finance minister’s argument that there was no loss in the allocation of coal blocks as the coal has not been “taken out of mother earth,” then surely the proper course would be to ensure that the companies which benefited from the discretionary allocation of the blocks are not allowed to profit from the coal that still remains unmined.

Nevertheless, the problem is that the government’s defense of the allocation is varied, full of holes, and contradictory. On one hand, the UPA is trying to present a luminously clean picture of the whole scenario, on the other BJP is not a less known perpetrator of corruption. It is high time that the parties stopped fooling the public and appreciated the intelligence of the common people.

Post-Godhra Massacre Case: Narendra Modi, Others Get Clean Chit

The Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) has given Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi a clean chit in the post-Godhra Gulberg massacre case and sought its closure as it found no evidence against him. Modi’s clean chit was revealed by a trial court in Ahmedabad on April 10, which said that the SIT had said “it did not find any prosecutable evidence against Narendra Modi and 69 others” in the massacre. Putting a spanner in the works for Modi and others, however, are independent findings by amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran on the Gulberg killings.
The SIT was headed by former CBI Chief R.K. Raghavan and probed the Gulberg Society riots of 2002. It is believed to have said its findings should be treated as a “closure report.”
Though magistrate M.S. Bhatt did not pronounce the court's decision on the closure report, he ordered the SIT to give a copy of it, within 30 days, to the complainant, Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, who was among the 69 killed in the massacre.
In his order on a batch of petitions seeking a copy of the report, including the one filed by Zakia Jafri, Bhatt said the investigators had filed a closure report, having found no evidence to justify the filing of an FIR against any of the persons named in Zakia Jafri's complaint in the Supreme Court, accusing Modi and 62 others of direct or indirect involvement in the communal riots.
The court stated: “According to the SIT, no offence has been established against any of the persons listed in Zakia Jafri's complaint. Therefore, as per the Supreme Court's order and the principle of natural justice, the complainant has to be given a copy of the report and related documents.”
No notice was needed to be issued to Zakia Jafri as she had already approached the court for a copy of the report. But the court did not make any reference to the copetitioners who sought a copy, including the Mumbai-based Citizens for Justice and Peace, which has been helping the riot victims in the legal battle.
That the SIT had given a clean chit to Modi and others was known in official circles for some time. But it was officially being confirmed by the court for the first time.
Supreme Court’s Monitoring
The SIT, whose investigations into Zakia Jafri’s complaint were monitored by the Supreme Court, has come to the conclusion that no case is made out against the accused. Hence, it has recommended a closure of the case that has already dragged on far too long and achieved nothing apart from slandering Modi and others. In normal circumstances, there would have been no need for a Supreme Court-appointed (and monitored) SIT. But these are not normal circumstances since the Congress, its stooges masquerading as ‘human rights’ activists and a biased media are intent upon pinning blame on Modi for the sheer vicarious pleasure of maligning him as also to demonstrate their ‘secular’ and ‘liberal’ credentials. Also, in normal circumstances this particular case would have come to a closure with the SIT’s report setting aside the allegations.
However, those who have scavenged on the grief and misery of the families of the victims of the 2002 violence for a decade and converted activism into a profitable business will not allow that to happen. They sought to tar the SIT soon after it was set up, fearing their campaign of calumny would be exposed; they have now shown no hesitation in maligning the SIT for telling the truth which is clearly unpalatable to them, not the least because it strips them of their mask.
SIT First Report
Earlier in May 2010, SIT gave a ‘clean chit' to Modi when it submitted to the Supreme Court its first report on the complaint of Zakia Jafri, whose husband Ehsan Jaffri, former Congress MP, was among the 69 persons killed in the Gulberg Housing Society riots in 2002.
The SIT, in its report, said: “In spite of the fact that ghastly and violent attacks had taken place on Muslims at Gulberg Society and elsewhere, the reaction of the government was not the type that would have been expected by anyone. Modi had tried to water down the seriousness of the situation at Gulberg Society, Naroda Patiya and other places by saying that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. However, this utterance by itself is not sufficient to make out a case against Modi.”
On the allegation that there was undue delay in requisitioning and deployment of the Army though anti-minority violence had broken out on February 27, 2002 afternoon itself in Vadodara and Ahmedabad, the report said, “The deployment of the Army commenced with effect from 11 a.m. on March 1, 2002 and the Army [personnel] had taken up their position[s] after being flown in from the forward areas within 21 hours of requisition by the State government.” The allegation that there was undue delay was therefore not established.
It was alleged that Modi did not visit the riot-affected areas in the initial days, though he visited the Godhra railway station on February 27, 2002 itself. The report pointed out that Modi himself admitted having visited the station the same day and that he visited Gulberg Society and other affected parts of Ahmedabad only on March 5 and 6, 2002. “This possibly indicates his discriminatory attitude and the allegations stands proved.”
Advantage Modi
The SIT report giving a clean chit to Modi in the Gulberg Society massacre during the 2002 Gujarat riots could not have come at a more appropriate time for Modi, who, by all accounts, has started nursing national ambitions now.
The court ordered that a copy of the SIT report and related documents be given to Zakia Jafri within 30 days giving her the right to pursue her private criminal complaint against Modi and others.
For sometime now, BJP supporters here have been insisting that there is no alternative to projecting Modi as the party’s prime ministerial candidate.
The Gujarat Assembly elections are scheduled for the end of the year, which the supporters firmly believe Modi would win for the third time.
The term of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nitin Gadkari is also coming to an end at almost the same time.
Initially, there was a view that Gadkari would be given a second term. But recent events that brought Gadkari in the news for all the wrong reasons have sealed his fate.
At the same time, it is also common knowledge in BJP circles that the RSS, which eventually decides who should take command of the BJP and which had been backing Gadkari earlier, is also averse to promoting any of the D4 leaders (Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, M Venkaiah Naidu and Ananth Kumar).
The Sangh has been wary of Modi as well. But sources said that in the present scenario, Modi enjoys TINA (There is no alternative) factor.
Court Convicts Accused
An special court in Anand on April 9 convicted 23 accused and let off as many in a case it described as "rarest of rare." The court held 23 of the 47 accused guilty. One of the accused died during trial. Section 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code (conspiracy) has been applied to all 23 convicted, while 18 have also been convicted of the charge of murder, four of abetment to crime and one of unlawful activities.
According to the prosecution, a 1,500-strong mob gathered in Ode village on March 1, 2002, and started throwing stones and damaging the property of the people in the minority community-dominated Suriewali Bhagol. A handful of policemen present lobbed teargas shells and then opened fire to disperse the mob. The people dispersed, but the death of a boy, Nishith, in the police firing sparked tension.
Twenty-three persons, including nine women and as many children of the minority community, were burnt to death in a house in Pirwali Bhagol area of Ode village by a mob of over 1,500 on March 1, 2002 following the Godhra train burning incident that had triggered communal conflagration across the state.
Earlier, a court had awarded the death sentence to 11 and life term to 20 in the Godhra train burning incident in which 58 persons, mostly kar sevaks, had been killed on February 27, 2002.
Assessment
The court's own decision on the matter — whether to accept or reject the closure report – will doubtless be litigated by one side or the other. But whatever the final view taken by the courts on his individual legal culpability for the tragedy of Gujarat, Modi should know this much. The fact that he remained — at best — a mute spectator to the killing of hundreds of innocent citizens and did nothing to ensure justice for the victims afterwards is a moral and political badge of dishonor that will ensure the higher office his supporters seek for him remains out of reach.
Nevertheless, it is an open secret that the Modi government has remained a mere spectator during post-Godhra carnage pogrom resulting in the destruction of over 500 places of Muslim worship and loss of precious lives for which the Gujarat High Court has indicted the state government only, as reported. In fact, all of our sensible countrymen and women must admit that whatever had happened was a blot on our secular credentials.
Modi may be the latest of the persons in power not doing the right thing in the heat of highly charged riots between communities, whoever the instigator was. It takes statesmanship to show right action even at the cost of personal popularity. I recall then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's counsel at the time to Modi to follow Raj Dharma which was sadly not followed. In addition to Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, none of the leaders since Independence including Indira Gandhi, Kumaraswami Kamaraj, Rajiv Gandhi and others followed this dictum when they faced similar challenges.
As case after case is taken up of that unfortunate period of recent history, it is sad that Modi-led Gujarat Government has not thought it fit to tender a public regret over its failure to prevent such large scale killings. The Gujarat chief minister keeps talking of the need to move on, but would not a public apology go a long way in healing 10-year-old wounds?

Prime Minister's Initiate To Reassure Citizens in Crisis

The office of prime minister in a parliamentary democracy is considered to be an office of extraordinary significance and of great prestige, because he heads the government consisting of people's elected representatives. It is under his leadership and guidance that the council of ministers takes the country on the path of progress and prosperity through important policies and welfare schemes. Such measures add to the stature of the country in the comity of nations.

Scams and Irregularities
Because of the 2G Spectrum, the S-band spectrum, the Commonwealth Games, and Adarsh Housing scams, the United Progressive Alliance government was facing serious allegations owing to the misdeeds of some of its ministers and officials, which were being highlighted in media. The opposition had launched a concerted and continuous campaign against the government. So much so that the winter session of Parliament got completely washed out on the insistence of the demand for the constitution of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to investigate into these scams.

The opposition consistently demanded that the prime minister and union ministers explain and clarify their stand vis-à-vis these allegations. Under these circumstances, it had become imperative for the prime minister, in his position as the head of the government, personally to interact with the media and clarify his position and that of his government to the public, so that the confidence deficit-anxiety, and frustration that have taken roots among the people because of sky rocketing price-rise, could be allayed.

It was because of it that in reply to a question at the meeting with editors and representatives of TV news channels held at his residence, the prime minister said that he does not claim that he has never committed an error, yet he is not as big a culprit as he is being made out to be. He said it in response to a question whether being the head of the government he feels himself equally responsible for the scam and irregularities. He said that he was fully aware of his personal responsibility but to run a coalition, one had to make some compromises.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said: "I want to assure the people that my government is serious to bring to book the guilty in corruption cases, regardless of the position they held." He also urged the media not to focus excessively on the negative aspects, as it affects the self-confidence of the country. He further urged that they should refrain from projecting India as a country of scams only, as it may also have an adverse impact on the domestic and international situation. He added that it is a situation, which is eating into our strength. Therefore, he said, the good works done by the country should also be reported truthfully. He asserted that he was prepared to appear before any committee, including the JPC. The coalition government has its compulsions too. He added that naturally all is not in the shape as I want to see."

Resolving Issues
Replying to another query with regard to bringing an end to discretionary powers of ministers so as to prevent corruption, he informed that a group of ministers, headed by Pranab Mukherjee, h as been constituted which will suggest the way to deal with the issue. The group has been asked to submit its report within 60 days. He emphasized that all countries in the world respect India as a democratic country and, therefore, we all should together inculcate new strength, new sentiment and renewed self-confidence. If we face certain issues, we have the ways to resolve them too, he said and exuded confidence that we will succeed in resolving all these issues.

Criticizing the prime minister after his interaction with the media, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left parties referred to his assertion that in a coalition government some compromises have to be made, and accused the prime minister of defending corruption. These parties also ridiculed his comparison between the 2G Spectrum and the subsidy being given to the poor. BJP President Nitin Gadkari said that coalition politics is related only to the 2G Spectrum, and S-band ISRO case, Commonwealth Games and the Adarsh Housing scams have little link with these. According to Gadkari, "If one sees between the lines, it is nothing but an attempt to sweep corruption under the carpet."

Extending Subsidies
Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechuri expressed almost similar sentiments and added, "On issues like corruption and price-rise, the prime minister says that to deal with these two burning issues, nothing much can be done which implies that the prime minister has thrown up his hands failing to resolve these basic and major issues facing the country". According to Yechuri, "Extending subsidies to the poor is an entirely different issue, while extending subsidies to the wealthy people and maintaining that to do so is necessary is sheer nonsense". Both the BJP and Left have targeted the government for the washout of the winter session of Parliament. Gadkari said: "If you are now prepared to appear before any committee, why didn't you do it earlier, so that such a situation would not have a risen."

Let the opposition and the critics term the interaction of the prime minister with the electronic media as an attempt to suppress corruption, yet it is a hard fact that in view of the debate raging for several months on the scams, the impasse in Parliament and the concern of the people, it can only be termed as a welcome and positive initiative. One can hope that the prime minister may continue to carry what is in his mind to people through media in the future.

Home Minister's Useless Appeal To China

Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna is currently visiting China. He has sought cooperation in various sectors. Making an appeal to Chinese leaders, he said: 'China should extend cooperation in the struggle against terrorism. It is a global threat to counter, which there are need-concerted endeavors by all the nations of the world. We are faced with such political ideologies as smack of narrow loyalties.'

Support for Permanent UN Membership
The minister also said: 'China should extend support for permanent membership of the UN Security Council for India. The two countries should exhibit maturity in the resolution of various disputes including the complex boundary dispute. They are not rivals and the Indian military is not in competition with China on the modernization issue.'

In so far as China is concerned, viewing its role from the very beginning, it has been undermining India by keeping its interests uppermost. It replied to the 'Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai slogan through an invasion in 1962 and grabbing 60,000 sq mile territory of India. So far so, China recognizes Arunachal Pradesh as is part and expressed opposition to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other leaders visiting the Indian state. In Ladakh and Uttaranchal, the Chinese aircraft and helicopters have repeatedly violated the air border.

In 2009, the Chinese troops entered the Indian territory up to 1 km, and painted rocks there with red Chinese letter. They stopped the construction of a rural roadwork, which was in progress under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) project. Recently, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) delegation toured the border area of Ladakh and it was learnt from the shepherds of that region that China is capturing the Indian territory inch by inch. It was the first visit of an Indian political party's delegation to that place.

Expressing protest over such a state of affairs, BJP President Nitin Gadkari said: "China occupied 147 spots within the Indian border during the current year and the government is concealing the fact. It is not taking any solid steps to retrieve these spots." In the Himalayan region, in the vicinity of the India border, China is building a road network and railway lines, establishing cantonments and constructing a dam on the river Brahmaputra, thereby preventing the water flow toward India. All this has greatly undermined India's security interests.

By flooding the Indian markets with its cheap and low quality products China is causing a huge damage to the Indian industries. So far so, its milk products and toys have been found extremely dangerous for health.

Communist China's Admission to United Nations
Whenever efforts are initiated for India's permanent membership in the UN Security Council, China and its camp follower Pakistan vehemently oppose it though China could get the UN Security Council membership by virtue of India's endeavors. The United States and other Western countries were opposed to the Communist China's admission to the United Nations.

China is bent upon undermining the Indian interest. A defense expert close to the Chinese troops had said in 2009 that China should adopt a strategy of disintegrating India. According to the US and Canadian analysts of the Toronto University, Chinese hackers have hacked classified documents of the Indian Defense Ministry and its missile defense system owing to which a threat has been posed to its defense mechanism.

Talking in terms pf the Chinese cooperation to counter terrorism is really astonishing. It is no secret that insurgents and rebels active in the northeastern sector of India are imparted training by China, besides receiving financial and arms support.

Inspiration for Maoists
The source of inspiration for Maoists that have become a big threat to India is none else than China and they invariably receive arms and training from China. China has also incited anti-Indian sentiments among Maoists active in Nepal. Not only that, China is a close friend of Pakistan, which is recognized as nursery of terrorism. It is China that supplied missile and nuclear know-how to Pakistan. A big seaport is being built by China at Gwadar in Balochistan for the Pakistan Navy.

In such circumstances, making an appeal to China for cooperation to counter terrorism is nothing but self-deception. Why will China extend cooperation to India against Pakistan and its own nurtured militants?

BJP's Opposition To Return of Indians in PoK

Home Minister P. Chidambaram has agreed with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and has announced that Kashmiri youth who crossed the border and had gone to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) would be forgiven and safe passage would be provided for their return. The decision has sent ripples in New Delhi, Srinagar, Islamabad and Muzaffarabad. This sudden and unexpected decision has led to a controversy.

The first to express his desire was union Health Minister and former state Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to launch a countrywide agitation against it. Newly elected BJP president Nitin Gadkari had fixed 25 February for launch of the agitation in Jammu. The party has termed the decision dangerous.

Immediate Action for Success
Both pro-government and antigovernment elements have expressed their displeasure over the issue, while the National Conference has termed the acceptance of its recommendations a great success. The state Congress has welcomed Chidambaram's decision. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti has welcomed the decision and has tried to take credit for the same.

Separatists have termed the decision a conspiracy. They have said that the government should take immediate action for the success of a composite dialogue. Kashmiri pundits in Jammu and New Delhi have expressed disapproval of the decision. They said forgiving militants would amount to turning the clock back. Kashmiris in PoK have rejected the decision. They said that the Indian Government should withdraw the army and should give people the right to self-determination.

Major Hurdle
All are expressing their views and nobody can be stopped from doing so. As far as the BJP's opposition is concerned, it is an opposition party, which had been in power in the past. It rules in several states. On the whole the party does not enjoy countrywide acceptance. Many persons, including non-Muslims, consider it a communal and extremist Hindu party.

The party has enmity with Muslims. It wants to keep them backward. If any Muslim makes any protest, he is asked by the party to go to Pakistan. It considers all Muslims antinational and terrorists. However, when elections comes the party begs for Muslim votes. This party is opposed to Pakistan. It has decided to launch agitation against return of Indians from PoK.

However, when it is in power, it develops a soft corner for Pakistan. Atal Behari Vajpayee as prime minister shook hands with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif. L.K. Advani paid obeisance at Jinnah's mausoleum in Pakistan and Jaswant Singh wrote a book favoring Jinnah.

BJP Returns to Old Agenda

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has yet again trumpeted the issue of construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya. This was strongly asserted at the party's national executive meeting currently being held at Indore in Madhya Pradesh. Although the session is being held under the presidentship of new president Nitin Gadkari, yet, for once, the party avoided spitting venom against Muslims. Whatever the party has said on issues like Ram Temple and reservation for Muslims is glaring evidence that the party is not at all prepared to change its color, and continues to hold on to its earlier stand and principles.
While reiterating its stand on construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya, the BJP made an appeal to Muslims to facilitate its construction. This implies that the BJP wants that Muslims should give up the case of Babri Mosque. It is a different issue whether Muslims would give up the case, but Nitin Gadkari has commented on the issue that the "case is pending in court where it appears difficult that the court would give a satisfactory ruling."

Faith and Confidence in Judiciary
Why does Gadkari feel that the court may give a ruling known only to him? Yet, as far as Indian Muslims are concerned, they have full faith and confidence in judiciary. Further, they have maintained from the beginning of the Babri Mosque dispute that they would abide by court ruling, whatever it be. The issue, however, does not relate to Indian Muslims alone, but it concerns everyone who has confidence in the country's judicial system. Every person, who may belong to any faith or religion, believes that the parties concerned should abide by court ruling in this dispute.
While speaking on the Ram Temple issue, the BJP has offered that should Muslims leave the place for the construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya, the BJP would extend all help in construction of a huge mosque by acquiring nearby land. It is not appropriate to speculate on how the common Muslim feels about the issue, or how the Muslim leadership would react and respond to the offer.
Nitin Gadkari, however, deserves to be commended that he avoided the use of provocative language. This is because the way the BJP and its allies have so far been raising the issue, has always served to vitiate the atmosphere of peace and amity.

Muslim Reservation Issue
Coming down heavily on reservation for Muslims, Nitin Gadkari maintained that such a measure would create differences and dissension. Only the BJP president can answer in what way reservation for Muslims would create the divide.
Should one take that the BJP is greatly afraid of reservation for the Muslim community? Wherever any reservation has been granted or wherever there is a proposal to do so, the basis of such a reservation is not religion but backwardness of the people belonging to some sects among Muslims.
Since the Indian Constitution envisages that all citizens should be accorded and afforded equal opportunities, it implies that all backward people in the country should be granted reservation, irrespective of their caste or creed, religion or faith. It is baseless even to think that it would create a divide among people. One wonders whether the divide in Hindu society has widened by the grant of reservation to the weaker and backward sections of Hindu society?

Gap Between High Caste Hindus and Dalits
Certainly, it hasn't. It is a hard fact that because of reservation, the gap between high caste Hindus and Dalits has reduced, as Dalits have risen out of their backwardness and deprivation because of reservation.
Anyway, whatever be the tone and tenor of the BJP and its president Nitin Gadkari at the meeting of the party national executive, it is certain that the BJP is not at all prepared to change its stand toward minorities, particularly Muslims. It also makes it clear that issues like construction of Ram Mandir abrogation of Article 370 and opposition to Muslim reservations, continue to be on its agenda.

BJP's Opposition To Hussain's Art Work Shows Sheer Bigotry

By removing the chapter on renowned artiste M.F. Hussain from the course study book, the Himachal Pradesh government of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has manifested its bigoted mentality. The decision by the state government is also contrary to the claim made by the new BJP president, Nitin Gadkari, that the BJP was not against Muslims. If the claim is true, one wonders why the chapter on M.F. Hussain was removed from curriculum.

Religious Sentiments
As far as disputed and objectionable paintings of M.F. Hussain are concerned, it can be understood that such paintings might have hurt the feelings of some people. These paintings may have also hurt their religious sentiments. It is understandable that those people, whose faith and religious sentiments were hurt, may condemn these paintings. We are not supporting these disputed paintings, nor intend to enter into any kind of debate on the issue. Yet, is Hussain the first person who has done such a thing? Clearly, it is not so. Why, then, is the BJP targeting Hussain alone? Why was he forced to lead a life in exile? Why have communal organizations opened a front against him? Why is a mention of him being removed from the course book?
It sums up to suggest that whatever Nitin Gadkari said is far from the truth. There are, at present, innumerable atheists in the country. Also innumerable are Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians, who have adopted a stand contrary to their own faith or community. They, consequently, had to suffer and face outcry from society.

Justification for BJP
Yet, because of just a few of his disputed acts, his entire career is not maligned and rejected, provided the person concerned had not indulged in such act purposely. Leaving apart the disputed and objectionable painting by Hussain, is his work not such that it be lauded? Are his paintings not bringing laurels to the country? If the contention stands ground, what then is the justification for BJP governments and their supporters who stoop that low to oppose M.F. Hussain?
It is the same BJP that comes out in support of Tasleema Nasreen and Salman Rushdie, who are anti-Islam and have hurt the feelings and sentiments of their own community. While supporting such people, the BJP fully keeps in mind democratic values and freedom of expression. Yet, when the very same freedom of expression is used against its own interests, or when it intends to derive political mileage, it changes its stance totally.

Misusing Authority
The common man has no objection to Hussain's paintings, nor does he have anything against the artist. Instead, he values his artistry. Had it not been so, a major organization like the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) should not have included the material on M.F. Hussain into the curriculum. Yet, misusing its authority under which it can bring about 20 percent changes in the curriculum, the Himachal Pradesh BJP Government removed the chapter on M.F. Hussain, and replaced it with Shobha Singh and a Russian born artiste Nicholas Roerich. By doing so, it has amply manifested its specific bigoted ideology.