For firm action at the earliest

Published : Dec 18, 2009 00:00 IST

Prakash Karat: The ATR reflects a lack of political will.-RAJEEV BHATT

Prakash Karat: The ATR reflects a lack of political will.-RAJEEV BHATT

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) was one of the parties that demanded the immediate tabling of the Liberhan Commission report and the Action Taken Report (ATR). The contents of the commissions report, the party avers, are more significant than its leakage to the media. However, the CPI(M) is not confident that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government will take the initiative to pursue the cases already pending in courts or file fresh charge sheets on the basis of what has emerged in the report. Prakash Karat, CPI(M) general secretary, spoke to Frontline on his partys position and the implications of not taking the report seriously. Excerpts:

The Liberhan Commission report and the ATR of the government have finally been tabled in Parliament and will be taken up for discussion soon. What is the next step the UPA should take in view of the seriousness of the issue? What are the implications if it does not take action or takes half-hearted measures?

Since the Liberhan Commissions report has been finally tabled in Parliament after the commission took a long time to submit it, the important thing now is to see that immediate action is taken; the persons named in the report, belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), as responsible for conspiring and planning the demolition of the Babri Masjid should be proceeded against. Unfortunately, the ATR prepared by the government shows no such intention or urgency. All that it has said is that the existing cases must be expedited. In the light of the voluminous report and the facts stated, the Central government should have announced its intention to proceed with fresh cases against all those responsible. If the commissions report does not propel the government to take firm action even at this late hour, it will be too late to do anything. We have seen how the Justice Srikrishna Commission report on the Mumbai communal violence has not been acted upon by the Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra. This possibly is the last opportunity for the UPA government to show its commitment to punish those guilty of the darkest assault on secularism.

The commission report described the demolition as one of the worst abhorrent acts of religious intolerance in the history of the nation and the Hindu religion. Do you concur with this view? The report observes that the State government had become a willing ally and a co-conspirator in the joint common enterprise to announce the revival of a rabid breed of Hindutva.

It is not enough to characterise the demolition as an assault on Indias democratic and secular edifice. It is itself scandalous that the commission took such a long time to submit its report. The way the grave attack on Indian secularism and democracy has been handled itself shows how the Indian state has failed to stand up in defence of the basic values of the republic. It is public knowledge that the Centre refused to intervene and give directions even when it was clear that a situation was building up in Ayodhya, in the run-up to the December 6 events, where the mobs would go on the rampage. The Central government knew very well that the Kalyan Singh government would do nothing but abet the so-called kar sevaks. Leaders of secular opposition parties, led by V.P. Singh, met the then Prime Minister [P.V. Narasimha Rao] on December 3 to discuss the alarming situation developing in Ayodhya. All that he stated was that negotiations had started with the RSS leadership and that they had assured him that only a pooja would be held at the site.

Is what the ATR has suggested adequate? Does it do justice to the enormity of the violence that took place in the aftermath of the demolition?

The ATR reflects a lack of political will. The fact that the commission took 17 years to submit its report, the fact that no person who is responsible for this major crime has been tried or convicted, and the whole record of the failure to act against those who instigated or indulged in communal violence shows a lack of political will to act against the culprits who defied the Constitution and the secular principles therein. If they do nothing on the Liberhan report, it will only be a continuation of the weak-kneed approach shown by the Congress government.

Even if there are any drawbacks in the report, does it detract from the fact that it has named virtually the entire top leadership in the Sangh Parivar as being culpable for the events leading to the demolition of the Babri Masjid?

One of the drawbacks of the report is the complete silence on the role of the Narasimha Rao government at the Centre. If the BJP-RSS-VHP combine did the actual job of destroying the mosque, the Rao government was culpable for allowing this brazen act. It refused to act to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law. The commissions efforts to absolve the Central government led by the Congress do not carry any conviction. But, as far as the identification of the persons and organisations responsible for the assault is concerned, there is enough in the report to act upon.

The Central Bureau of Investigation, according to the Liberhan report, collected evidence in support of the facts. Now the Congress seems to suggest that the ATR would be based only on the recommendations and that a supplementary charge sheet will be filed only if new details emerge after further investigation.

On the basis of the Liberhan Commission report itself and earlier investigations, sufficient material is there for prosecuting the various persons involved. The existing cases that are there before the Rae Bareli and Lucknow courts are on diluted charges against some of the BJP and RSS leaders. So, it is necessary for the government to take the initiative to launch more substantive cases.

The Liberhan report has recommended that a special law be enacted providing exemplary punishment for misuse of religion, caste for political gains or illicit acquisition of political or other power. The ATR suggests that a Bill to curb communal violence will be enacted. Is this measure enough?

As far as the Bill to curb communal violence (Communal Violence, Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims, Bill) is concerned, it has been pending for the past five years. The UPA had promised to bring forth a Bill in the National Common Minimum Programme in 2004 itself. There is nothing new in what the ATR has to say on this.

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