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After Sanjiv Bhatt’s Termination From Duty: A Modest Proposal For Mr. Modi
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By Abhishek Jha:
The run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections saw Modi’s public image metamorphose from that of a tainted chief minister accused of deliberate inaction during riots to the man who could salvage India from all its problems, deliver and develop. It would be unthinkable now to be reminded that this man, who is an instant favourite with industrialists, had once been questioned and mistrusted by them due to the riots. Since then, however, he worked hard to bring the metamorphosis to fruition. The Tata Nano plant set up at Sanand, the hiring of the lobbying firm APCO Worldwide for strengthening brand Gujarat, the Vibrant Gujarat summits were all part of the project. It also helped that the SIT submitted that it did not find enough evidence to proceed against him, which was immediately dubbed ‘a clean chit’ and cleared the path to the final throne.
But the hot seat hasn’t been as comfortable and empowering as Modi would wish. One last thorn persists and those who feel that justice remains undelivered in the 2002 carnage have put all their weight behind that last thorn, namely Zakia Jafri. To bury the ghosts of 2002 and to emerge spotless, Modi needs to delegitimise that force. To that end, the work has been relentless. The probe initiated against Teesta Setalvad regarding exhumation of corpses of riot victims, who as a member of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) is assisting Zakia Jafri in her case, is a case in point. In 2012, the Supreme Court bench had said the following about it: “This is a hundred percent spurious case to victimise the petitioner (Setalvad)” and that “this type of case does no credit to the state of Gujarat in any way.”
A year earlier, in 2011, Sanjiv Bhatt, an IPS officer who had submitted before the SIT that Modi had asked his administration to “let Hindus vent their anger“, was suspended for dereliction of duty and insubordination. He had failed to report at his post as the principal of the Police Training College, Junagadh, because he was “to appear in the various court cases and [before] the G.T.Nanavati-Akshay Mehta judicial commission“. In the same year he was arrested within 48 hours after he filed another affidavit claiming that Modi and Amit Shah had asked him to destroy documentary evidence regarding the murder of Haren Pandya. Interestingly, Pandya, a minister during Modi’s chief minster-ship, had testified undercover before the Krishna Iyer tribunal in 2002 that Modi had wanted Hindus to vent their anger after the Sabarmati Express was set on fire.
On July 14 this year, just a few weeks before the hearing on Zakia Jafri’s revision plea was to begin, CBI raided Setalvad’s office and residence citing FCRA violations even when demands for a thorough probe in Vyapam case were being raised with great frenzy. The CBI went so far as to demand custodial interrogation of Setalvad and her husband. Bombay HC, however, denied CBI the custody saying that it did not “find any threat to the sovereignty and integrity of the state or a threat to its security or economic interest” if the couple remained free and even granted them anticipatory bail. “A citizen may conduct social activities and may have a different point of view, which may not be liked by the government. However, in a democratic state, a citizen may have his or her point of view,” Justice Mridula Bhatkar said last week. Soon after the suspended IPS officer, Sanjiv Bhatt, was sacked.
The Union Home Ministry termination order, following a recommendation from the Gujarat government, signed on 13th August had 11 charges against Bhatt similar to the ones that had led to his suspension. Bhatt tweeted after he learnt of his termination: “Finally removed from service today after serving 27 years in the Indian Police Service. Once again eligible for employment. 🙂 Any takers?” His son’s letter praising him for his courage has gone viral. Setalvad is cheered every time she comes clean before the courts. Both Setalvad and Bhatt do have the sympathy of a large group of people in the country. It is not unique to those who stand against Modi. Durga Shakti Nagpal, the IAS officer who took on the sand mafia in UP, got a lot of support when she was suspended. A lot of people look up to such officers as honest people fighting a corrupt and powerful system. Their everyday struggles against this system makes them identify with them.
Of course, whenever such action takes place, the state argues that it is in accordance with guidelines, statues, laws, procedure, etc. One would also like to believe that that is true. However, few people who have held the high office of the Prime Minister have invested as much energy in building their public image as Mr. Modi has. So, in the rare case that the charges being filed against these people are false, are spurious, wouldn’t it hurt his public image? Maybe in the enthusiasm of defending the country against anti-national people, of freeing the country of people who do not follow procedure and orders, a case or two might have been exaggerated. He should understand that this is a mistake. Every charge that emerges to be “hundred percent spurious” is likely to weigh against him if the courts give a green signal to a fresh investigation after hearing Jafri’s plea. In the public eye, it has already begun to tarnish him again and maybe the industrialists will start to groan again. A little humility can save him that.
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Drrkd Goel
tehelka.comhttp://www.tehelka.com/vajpayee-could-have-intervened-but-did-not/ ‘Vajpayee could have intervened, but did not’
Neha Dixit
Justice JS Verma, who headed the NHRC during the Gujarat 2002 carnage, tells Neha Dixit that the
Nanavati Commission Report is far from the truth
Photo: AFP The Nanavati report states that there is absolutely no evidence of any lapse on the part of the Modi government in the matter of not complying with the NHRC recommendations.
During the Gujarat riots, I was the chairperson of the NHRC. In the 11 orders passed by the NHRC between March 1, 2002, and July 11, 2003, two orders on April 1 and May 31, 2002, unequivocally indicted the state government. In the April order, the NHRC clearly stated that the government is doing little to stop the violation of fundamental rights to life and dignity of the people in Gujarat. A year after Godhra, a letter was also sent to the then prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to intervene and ensure that the government was proceeding with adequate integrity. What was Vajpayee’s response?
He could have stepped in to monitor the situation and issue directives to the competent authorities, but he did not even comment. Nothing came over, except for a formal acknowledgement from the Prime Minister’s Office. The report says that the government did not slip at all in providing protection and rehabilitation to the victims… This is false again. Many of the largest rescue camps, including Shah-e-Alam in Ahmedabad, did not receive visits at a high political or administrative level till I visited them. This indicated a deeper malaise, discriminatory in origin and character. In its observation on the rescue, relief and rehabilitation measures, the NHRC also said that numerous complaints have been received regarding the lack of facilities in the camps. You also raised questions on discriminatory practices during the riots. What were they? In the NHRC REPORT for 2001-02, the commission noted two matters that raised serious questions of discriminatory treatment. The first was the announcement of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of the karsevaks who perished in the attack on the Sabarmati Express, and of Rs 1 lakh for those who died in the riots. The second related to the application of POTA to the first incident, but not to the riots. These issues seriously impinge on the provisions of the Constitution that guarantee equality before the law and equal protection of the laws within the territory of India, and the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. The day the Nanavati Commission was appointed to probe the Gujarat riots, you expressed your apprehensions. Why?
I had expressed my concerns as the NHRC head. Now that I am out of it, I have nothing to say regarding this. The Supreme Court set up a SIT under a former CBI director. Shouldn’t Nanavati have waited for their report?
This you should ask Nanavati, not me.
(Published in Tehelka Magazine, Volume 5 Issue 40, Dated 11 October 2008)
Drrkd Goel
Read below also===
Express News Service | Ahmedabad | February 18, 2014 6:47 am
Photo of Justice Suresh not printed here.
Express News Service | Ahmedabad | February 18, 2014 6:47 am
Justice Suresh terms the campaign of Gujarat’s development as “fiction” in the book.
Summary
The author terms the campaign of Gujarat’s development as “fiction” in the book. Justice Hosbet Suresh, former Judge of Bombay High Court Monday said that CM Narendra Modi was the main conspirator of the 2002 Gujarat riots and was not a suitable candidate as Prime Minister of India.
Justice Suresh, one of the members of Concerned Citizens’ Tribunal that probed
into the 2002 Gujarat riots and prepared a report, was speaking at the launch of a book in the city. Justice Suresh added that it would be dangerous for the country to have Modi as PM. Turning down the clean chit given to Modi by a magisterial court, Justice Suresh also said that there were many evidences against Modi and the issue was still to be adjudicated by the High Court and Supreme Court. “Supreme Court has not given him a clean chit,” he said.
Justice Suresh, who was in the city for the release of Sachchai Gujarat Ki, written by professor of an arts college in Ahmedabad, Hemantkumar Shah. The author
terms the campaign of Gujarat’s development as “fiction” in the book. Justice
Suresh said that as a member of the Concerned Citizens’ Tribunal, he — along with former Supreme Court judges V Krishna Iyer and P B Sawant — had toured
Gujarat extensively for 15 days after 2002 riots. Justice Iyer, who chaired the
tribunal, has given testimonials to Modi.
“Modi was the main conspirator of Gujarat riots,” Justice Suresh said.
“What happened in Best Bakery case? All the accused were acquitted by the trial
court. But the same case got transferred to Maharashtra and the accused got
convicted,” Justice Suresh said. “He is like Hitler. What happened after Hitler came to power? World War broke out. I do not rule out the possibility of (something) similar if he becomes the PM.”
Referring to the conviction of Maya Kodnani in the 2002 Naroda Patiya massacre
and Modi’s complicity in the riots, he said, “Whose person is Kodnani? Modi’s.”
Comments: 17.02.2014
Dr.R.K.D.Goel
Wait only for 2014 results of Parliament elections. If the BJP get majority and
Make Modi to PM of India, it will be disaster for India. No one rule out war with
Pakistan.
Read daily the Islamic Pakistan ISI trained terrorists are giving threats to kill
Saffron Parivar members as they demolished the Babri Masjid in 1992 under the leadership of Mr. L.K.Advani.
Now the Islamic terrorist gave threats to kill Modi if he will be BJP Prime Minister of India in 2014.
What happened in Patna on 27.10.2013 in the rally of Mr. Narendra Modi? Six people died due to Bomb Blasts in Patna of which the responsibility are taken by the Islamic Mujahedin’s in Patna to take revenge of 1992 / 2002 riots against the Muslims in India.
What happened in Muzaffarnagar in September 2013, riots against Muslims on a very pity matter? There were no major riots in Western UP before 1947 and after
1947 partition of India.
There was very good harmony between Hindus – Jats and Muslims in western
UP except some small riots those were controlled in a day.
Now the saffron parivar 1992 when the Babri Masjid was demolished under Mr. L.K.Advani and BJP came in power under Mr. A.B.Vajpayee who was having collaboration Center government with NDA partners.
Now Muslim youths are recruited by Islamic Jihad’s to do riots in India, which again the saffron Parivar want under Mr. Raj Nath Singh a BJP president and Mr. Narendra Modi as convenor of 2014 Parliament elections.
All powers are now with Modi to whom too give BJP tickets or to whom refused the BJP MP tickets in India. Mr. Narendra Modi has all the powers of BJP now
with RSS backing to him.
Wait only for few months. Now Hindu youths of India are with Modi to see him PM of India in 2014 to give a lesson to Pakistan and to remove Islamic terrorists from India, which is not possible as Mr. A.B.Vajpayee also failed to have normal relations with Pakistan from 1998 to 2004 with Kargil war in 1999 with Pakistan.
See how many Bomb Blasts in India from 1992 to 2o14? Killing more than 4000 innocent people in India (Only in 2008) from 2004 to 2014 only by Bomb Blasts of Islamic Jihad’s.
Hope Modi will make India terrorist free as Indian Hindu youths are with him.
All saying there will be disaster, if Mr. Narendra Modi will be BJP Prime Minister of India in 2014.
Pray to God to maintain peace in India after 2014 Parliament elections.
Dr.R.K.D.Goel President Forum of Whistle-Blower of India.Ph: 0265-2647677
Justice Suresh terms the campaign of Gujarat’s development as “fiction” in the book.
Summary
The author terms the campaign of Gujarat’s development as “fiction” in the book. Justice Hosbet Suresh, former Judge of Bombay High Court Monday said that CM Narendra Modi was the main conspirator of the 2002 Gujarat riots and was not a suitable candidate as Prime Minister of India.
Justice Suresh, one of the members of Concerned Citizens’ Tribunal that probed
into the 2002 Gujarat riots and prepared a report, was speaking at the launch of a book in the city. Justice Suresh added that it would be dangerous for the country to have Modi as PM. Turning down the clean chit given to Modi by a magisterial court, Justice Suresh also said that there were many evidences against Modi and the issue was still to be adjudicated by the High Court and Supreme Court. “Supreme Court has not given him a clean chit,” he said.
Justice Suresh, who was in the city for the release of Sachchai Gujarat Ki, written by professor of an arts college in Ahmedabad, Hemantkumar Shah. The author
terms the campaign of Gujarat’s development as “fiction” in the book. Justice
Suresh said that as a member of the Concerned Citizens’ Tribunal, he — along with former Supreme Court judges V Krishna Iyer and P B Sawant — had toured
Gujarat extensively for 15 days after 2002 riots. Justice Iyer, who chaired the
tribunal, has given testimonials to Modi.
“Modi was the main conspirator of Gujarat riots,” Justice Suresh said.
“What happened in Best Bakery case? All the accused were acquitted by the trial
court. But the same case got transferred to Maharashtra and the accused got
convicted,” Justice Suresh said. “He is like Hitler. What happened after Hitler came to power? World War broke out. I do not rule out the possibility of (something) similar if he becomes the PM.”
Referring to the conviction of Maya Kodnani in the 2002 Naroda Patiya massacre
and Modi’s complicity in the riots, he said, “Whose person is Kodnani? Modi’s.”
Comments: 17.02.2014
Dr.R.K.D.Goel
Wait only for 2014 results of Parliament elections. If the BJP get majority and
Make Modi to PM of India, it will be disaster for India. No one rule out war with
Pakistan.
Read daily the Islamic Pakistan ISI trained terrorists are giving threats to kill
Saffron Parivar members as they demolished the Babri Masjid in 1992 under the leadership of Mr. L.K.Advani.
Now the Islamic terrorist gave threats to kill Modi if he will be BJP Prime Minister of India in 2014.
What happened in Patna on 27.10.2013 in the rally of Mr. Narendra Modi? Six people died due to Bomb Blasts in Patna of which the responsibility are taken by the Islamic Mujahedin’s in Patna to take revenge of 1992 / 2002 riots against the Muslims in India.
What happened in Muzaffarnagar in September 2013, riots against Muslims on a very pity matter? There were no major riots in Western UP before 1947 and after
1947 partition of India.
There was very good harmony between Hindus – Jats and Muslims in western
UP except some small riots those were controlled in a day.
Now the saffron parivar 1992 when the Babri Masjid was demolished under Mr. L.K.Advani and BJP came in power under Mr. A.B.Vajpayee who was having collaboration Center government with NDA partners.
Now Muslim youths are recruited by Islamic Jihad’s to do riots in India, which again the saffron Parivar want under Mr. Raj Nath Singh a BJP president and Mr. Narendra Modi as convenor of 2014 Parliament elections.
All powers are now with Modi to whom too give BJP tickets or to whom refused the BJP MP tickets in India. Mr. Narendra Modi has all the powers of BJP now
with RSS backing to him.
Wait only for few months. Now Hindu youths of India are with Modi to see him PM of India in 2014 to give a lesson to Pakistan and to remove Islamic terrorists from India, which is not possible as Mr. A.B.Vajpayee also failed to have normal relations with Pakistan from 1998 to 2004 with Kargil war in 1999 with Pakistan.
See how many Bomb Blasts in India from 1992 to 2o14? Killing more than 4000 innocent people in India (Only in 2008) from 2004 to 2014 only by Bomb Blasts of Islamic Jihad’s.
Hope Modi will make India terrorist free as Indian Hindu youths are with him.
All saying there will be disaster, if Mr. Narendra Modi will be BJP Prime Minister of India in 2014.
Pray to God to maintain peace in India after 2014 Parliament elections.
Dr.R.K.D.Goel
President Forum of Whistle-Blower of India.Ph: 0265-2647677