Pressure on govt to act against Bajrang Dal

NEW DELHI: With attacks on Christians spreading across the country, the Centre is under intense pressure to act against the Sangh extreme outfit, Bajrang Dal.

Minority leaders are demanding that the Centre take law and order in its hands because the Karnataka government is allegedly soft on the Dal, but the UPA appeared keen to deflect responsibility of taking action on to the state government.

On Tuesday, PM Manmohan Singh despatched a fact-finding team, comprising members of the National Minorities Commission (NCM) and National Commission for Women (NCW) to Karnataka. Minorities Commission chairman S Y Qureshi, member Harcharan Singh Josh and NCW chairperson Girija Vyas were all in Mangalore, the epicentre of the violence.

Congress general secretary Magaret Alva and Veerappa Moily briefed Congress president Sonia Gandhi on the situation. Referring to the violence, Alva told TOI, "There are attacks on innocent people. The state has to provide security to religious places."

On the Centre's role in quelling violence, Alva said that only after NCM and NCW submit reports can any action be taken. "The PM has spoken to the Karnataka CM and governor," she added.

As the conversion fire refused to die down, labour minister Oscar Fernandes, who hails from Mangalore, discussed the situation with home minister Shivraj Patil on Tuesday.

Rejecting the Sangh Parivar claim that the attacks were provoked by conversions, he said, "They must tell where conversions have taken place." Terming the attacks on churches as an attempt to divide people, he said, "The law enforcing agencies should see if there has been any violation of law without allowing hoodlums to take the law into their own hands."

Accusing Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa of letting the Bajrang Dal go on a rampage, Fernandes said that such incidents could not have taken place without the connivance of the state government. "What more do you expect from a CM who says that Gujarat is his model?" he asked.

Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh, who is in charge of Orissa, held Bajrang Dal squarely responsible for the attack on Christians in the state. He said the state government was a mute witness to the violence. He said, "They (Bajrang Dal) can't take law in their hands. They have no right to vandalise institutions. The state governments are responsible for protecting minority institutions and must be held accountable."

Singh attacked the state's laxity when he pointed out that VHP leader Praveen Togadia was allowed to make inflammatory speeches even as the Union home minister was prevented from touring the affected area. He reiterated that there were constitutional provisions that the Centre could invoke in such cases.

Christian organisations have been critical of the state's inaction. United Christian Forum for Human Rights national convener John Dayal said it was painful to observe that neither the states nor the Centre had the political will or capability to act even as violence continued in Orissa, MP and Karnataka.


Source : Times Of India