‘लिपस्टिक लगानेवालों का विरोध’

मुंबई में हुए चरमपंथी हमलों पर जनता के आक्रोश को भारतीय जनता पार्टी के नेता मुख्तार अब्बास नक़वी ने प्रायोजित बताया.

उन्होंने विरोध प्रदर्शन कर रही जनता की तुलना अलगाववादियों से की.

पत्रकारों से बातचीत में जब उनसे पूछा गया कि मुंबई में जनता का गुस्सा नेताओं पर फूट रहा है तो इसके जवाब में नक़वी ने कहा कि हमारी कुछ महिलाएँ लिपस्टिक और पावडर लगाकर हाथ में मोमबत्ती लिए पश्चिमी सभ्यता के साथ नेताओं को गाली दे रही हैं, ये ठीक वैसा ही है जैसा अलगाववादी करते हैं.

हमारी कुछ महिलाएँ लिपस्टिक और पावडर लगाकर हाथ में मोमबत्ती लिए पश्चिमी सभ्यता के साथ नेताओं को गाली दे रही हैं, ये ठीक वैसा ही है जैसा अलगाववादी करते हैं

मुख्तार अब्बास नक़वी, भाजपा नेता

उन्होंने कहा कि अलगाववादी भी लोकतंत्र के प्रति लोगों में अविश्वास पैदा करते हैं.

उनका कहना था कि विरोध प्रदर्शन कर रहे इन लोगों की जांच होनी चाहिए कि आखिर ये कौन लोग हैं और उनका संबंध किससे है.

पत्रकारों ने जब नक़वी से ये जानना चाहा कि क्या महाराष्ट्र के मुख्यमंत्री विलासराव देशमुख का ताजमहल होटल के दौरे पर फ़िल्मकार रामगोपाल वर्मा को साथ ले जाना सही था, तो नक़वी ने कहा इस मामले को तूल देकर जबरन मुद्दा बनाया जा रहा है और ये कोई बड़ी बात नहीं है.

नक़वी के इस बयान से भाजपा मुश्किल में आ गई है.

इसके तुरंत बाद भाजपा नेता राजीव प्रताप रूड़ी ने बयान जारी किया कि ये नक़वी के अपने विचार हैं और भाजपा का इससे कोई लेना देना नहीं है.

उनका कहना था कि चरमपंथ के ख़िलाफ़ नेताओं और सरकारों को कड़े क़दम उठाने ही होंगे. जब तक ये नहीं होगा, आम आदमी का गुस्सा शांत नहीं होगा.

I think मुख्तार अब्बास नक़वी, भाजपा नेता supportor of terrorist? Mumbai Police Please interogate, People didn’t want any cloud around leader. the latest speech tells the truth BJP and Congress is same. Common man need to take over the Government with the help of Army. We didn’t want Democracy ( लोकतंत्र ) we want save peacefull life.

 

Mumbai Under Assault

Current report says that 85 people were killed in mumbai shootout including 6 foreigners and 14 polices. And still few hundred is trapped in TAJ HOTEL, OBEROI HOTEL, CAMA hospital.
Terrorist attacked in 11 places in mumbai. killed at least 87 people including 14 cops.

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For the last several months, bombings have rattled the image of an India industriously humming toward prosperity. Beginning about two years ago, they have occured with increasing frequency: about a dozen such attacks have pockmarked India’s largest cities, from Delhi and Jaipur to Bangalore and Guwahati. And so when the alarms went out on Wednesday night, it looked like Mumbai (formerly Bombay) was being hit by another one of those attacks. The modus operandi was similar: simultaneous blasts in heavily populated areas. But this time, the attack was different.

Indeed, the assault only seemed to grow in frenzy, scope and intensity as time passed. Less that two hours after the first reports of firings and explosions, which came at about 10 p.m. local time, it soon became clear that instead of just crude bombs left on bicycles, scooters and cars, this attack used the whole arsenal: grenades, AK-47s, rifles and a car bomb in a taxi that exploded on the highway headed to the city’s international airport. And unlike previous attacks, which have hit mainly Indians in popular, crowded markets, this one appeared to have targeted foreigners and the posh hotels they frequent. Two of the city’s landmark properties — the Oberoi and the Taj Hotel — were under siege. The grand dome of the Taj caught fire, masked in a purple haze, after terrorists set off an explosion on the roof as police closed in on them. About 300 troops, sent in by the central government, have also surrounded the Oberoi.

A British national, a man in his 30s, who was having dinner inside the Oberoi Hotel, one of the city’s poshest, told the Times Now television station that two young men — in jeans and t-shirts — came in brandishing AK-47s and rifles, singled out those carrying British and American passports and ordered them to the roof. “We went on the 18th floor, it became very smoky, we escaped. Just two of us,” said the British man, who was not identified. As of 2 a.m. local time, several of the hostages were still being held, with dozens of Indian commandos surrounding the hotel.

A member of Parliament, Krishna Das, who was interviewed from inside the Taj Hotel, reported that two men also entered that hotel’s restaurant and started firing, but did not take any hostages. As of 2 a.m., he said about 200 people, including women and children, were still inside the hotel without news of the mayhem unfolding around the city. Meanwhile, bombs have been reported in at least seven sites in Mumbai, with 87 people so far reported killed and nearly 200 injured. At least two Mumbai police officers, who went into one of the hotels to confront the terrorists, were killed. Two of the suspects have also been killed by police. It is not yet clear how many attackers were involved in the assault.

The attacks come at a moment when Mumbai has become a communal tinderbox and terrorism has become one of the biggest political issues in the country. The ruling Congress Party has drawn flak for allegedly failing to take a strong line on terrorism, but the states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the leading opposition party at the center, have also been targeted.

Late last month, 10 arrests unearthed what appeared to be a possible Hindu extremist terror network, with ties to the BJP. But, for the most part, security agencies and analysts have blamed jihadi groups for the recent terror attacks. And the simultaneous bomb blasts on Wednesday — similar to previous radical Islamist attacks — immediately led most observers to suspect the jihadis once again. For years, India blamed Pakistan’s intelligence services for terror attacks; then the usual suspects became the Harkat ul Jihad Islamia (based in Bangladesh) and Students Islamic Movement of India, a group that has been banned. This summer, a new group emerged, Indian Mujahideen, claiming responsibility via e-mail for several attacks and stressing that their members and grievances were homegrown. A group called Deccan Mujahideen, previously unknown, has also sent an e-mail claiming responsibility for Wednesday’s attacks. That claim cannot yet be confirmed.

In 1993, Mumbai was hit by a series of bombs that killed nearly 300 people. Those were allegedly detonated at the behest of local gangsters in retaliation for anti-Muslim violence by India’s majority Hindus. Those gangsters, including Dawood Ibrahim, are now believed to have escaped India and to be living in the Pakistani city of Karachi.

As the debate over terror continues, various parties have been trading blame. The BJP has accused the Congress of cooking up charges against the arrested Hindu right-wingers, while the Congress has been accusing the BJP of playing a double-game of pointing fingers at the Congress while lending a hand to Hindu-fundamentalist terrorists. Mumbai has been a focus of the tension between the parties, as several of the so-called “Hindu terror” arrests have taken place in or near the city. Perhaps the size and scale of this most recent attack will force the country’s political leaders to finally push through a long-shelved proposal to co-ordinate intelligence on terror incidents between the states and prevent a repeat of Wednesday’s bloody spectacle. With reporting by Madhur Singh/New Delhi

SYDNEY: At least two Australians have been injured in a wave of terror attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai and a 20-person trade delegation is caught up in the violence, officials said on Wednesday.

The department of foreign affairs gave no further details of the two people injured, but issued a warning to all Australians in the city to remain in a safe location and follow the advice of local authorities.

A trade delegation from New South Wales state, of which Sydney is the capital, was staying at the Trident Hotel, formerly known as the Oberoi, one of two hotels targeted in the attacks, the national AAP news agency reported.

“I can confirm a 20-member trade delegation organised by the Department of State and Regional Development booked into the Oberoi hotel,” a government spokesman said.

“We are currently trying to contact them. The last we heard, they were being evacuated from their rooms but we haven’t had any contact since then.”

Nearly 80 people were killed in a series of attacks apparently targeting foreigners in Mumbai as heavily armed Islamist militants hit two luxury hotels — the Trident and the landmark Taj Mahal.

A group calling itself the “Deccan Mujahedeen” claimed responsibility for the assaults on the hotels in the south of the city and a number of shooting and bombing incidents elsewhere, the Press Trust of India said.

• Previously unknown group claimed responsibility
• Group called Indian Mujahideen threatened to attack Mumbai
• Photo of suspected terrorist released
• Terrorists lobbed grenades and shot people
• Terrorists occupied Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and Oberoi Hotel
• 9 militants killed, 9 arrested, 3 detained: CNN
• Terrorists also attacked Cama Hospital, Cafe Leopold, and Ramada Hotel
• Attackers reportedly looking for individuals with British and U.S. passports
• Hostages taken at Hotel Oberoi
• Explosions heard at several locations
• 78 reported dead, hundreds injured
• Three top police officers killed

 

BJP warns Cong against politicising terror

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Wednesday cautioned the ruling Congress against “playing politics” over terror.

Warning that “political moves” could prove counter-productive for the ruling party, senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu said, “Planting stories about involvement of people and organisations affiliated to BJP will prove counter-productive, as the investigation agencies should have sufficient proof to bring the probe to a logical end.”

BJP also seemed to be speaking in the same voice after a bout of differences within the party that came to the fore last week, when a section preferred to remain silent on the involvement of saffron suspects like Sadhvi Pragya Singh and others in the Malegaon blast case and wait till investigations were over, while another section came out openly in defence of the “nationalistic people and organisations” with the line that Hindutva forces could have nothing to do with terror acts.

However, the party seems to have decided on the line that those found guilty should be proceeded against, but only after evidence that could prove their involvement.

Naidu also questioned the timing of the “selective leaks” and said the issue was being politicised ahead of assembly elections in six states and the impending Lok Sabha elections.

“Stories are being planted about involvement of a Hindu leader and a BJP legislator… sufficient evidence should be there to place the investigation before the judiciary,” he said, as party chief Rajnath Singh too accused the government of communalising the Malegaon case.

“The government is playing with fire by painting terrorism in communal colours. Hindu terrorism is politically motivated. I caution the government to change its outlook on terrorism and see it in the right perspective,” Singh said in Raipur.

Both Singh and Naidu maintained that the BJP was not against any probe but would oppose distorted propaganda against religious leaders. “The use of phrases like Hindu terrorism has political overtones,” Naidu said.

Party general secretary Gopinath Munde had said in Ahmednagar on Wednesday that Hindu organisations being questioned in the Malegaon blast case were targeted without any concrete evidence.

 

BJP in Madhya Pradesh

For voters in the forthcoming assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, the central poll issue is not bijli (electricity) or sadak (road). It is paani (water).

The capital Bhopal gets fresh drinking water once in two days. The fast depleting Upper lake — the only source of water in the city — has ‘exposed’ the state government which may have done sterling work elsewhere but has failed to provide safe (or even unsafe) drinking water to the capital city and the rest of the state.

Irrigation continues to be a major challenge, and that the government is totally dependent on the monsoon is evident from this year’s shrinking wheat acreage. The government claims that it has brought an additional 480,000 hectares of land under irrigation. But agricultural potential continues to languish because of scanty rainfall.

“Government reservoirs are dry this year and the irrigation potential is likely to be down from 700,000 hectares to 400,000 hectares,” says Pravesh Sharma, principal secretary, Department of Farmer Welfare, Agriculture and Cooperatives. All major foodgrains reported negative to 5.33 per cent growth. The acreage of oilseeds has gone down by 1.89 per cent. The wheat acreage has gone down by 50 per cent this year in Malwa region, the latest state economic survey says.

That the Bharatiya Janata Party government changed three chiefs ministers in five years hasn’t helped the situation.

Raghavji, finance minister of the BJP’s first chief minister Uma Bharti, had the daunting task of financing some populist measures put in place by her. Although she departed unceremoniously from the government and the party in August 2004, Raghavji was kept on as finance minister.

His management of finances was home-made and simple: curtail non-plan expenditure and put the surplus funds in development activities. Madhya Pradesh was rewarded by the Finance Commission twice as a result: Rs 363.06 crore was granted as debt waiver incentive in 2005-06, and an equal amount in the next financial year. His efforts to enact the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act in 2005 ensured his government another incentive of Rs 293.14 crore under debt swap and consolidation schemes.

Raghavji had to face more challenges when the chief minister changed. Bharti’s successor, Babulal Gaur, promised protection to small traders, professionals and industrialists. Incentives, self-assessment schemes, exemptions, concessions and sops to all categories became the order of the day.

The actual fiscal reforms were visible when Shivraj Singh Chouhan replaced Gaur in November 2005. The tax revenue, which stood at Rs 7769.71 crore in 2004-05, grew to Rs 8933.34 crore (revised estimate) in 2005-06. The state kitty swelled to Rs 10,029.46 crore (budget estimate) in 2006-07 and is expected to touch Rs 11,885.68 crore in the current fiscal (2008-09). The non-tax revenue, which slipped from Rs 4,461.86 crore in 2004-05 also grew to Rs 2,059.08 crore in 2006-07, is expected to touch Rs 3,017.70 crore in 2008-09.

By 2005, Madhya Pradesh had a revenue surplus budget. Although this was mainly due to a grant of Rs 2,749.36 crore which the Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Board returned to the state government, this increased non-tax revenue receipts. In 2008, Chouhan presented the last budget of the 12th assembly with a revenue surplus of Rs 2,839.78 crore.

The government has drastically reduced non-plan expenditure from Rs 1,382.99 crore in 2004-05 to Rs 383.46 crore (budget estimate) in 2006-07. It estimates the budget to go down to Rs 199 crore.

These are more than mere numbers because the BJP government’s performance in building new roads and managing the power situation has been better than the Congress’s. Of the total plan expenditure of Rs 15,634 crore (budget estimate) in Budget 2008-09, the BJP government earmarked an amount of Rs 2,270.01 crore for road-building to add 21,857 km of road in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007-12) besides constructing 20,000 km of roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna.

There are many pluses in the government’s report card on fiscal reform:

Revenue surplus was achieved for the first time after 13 years against a revenue deficit of Rs 25.49 crore for the year 2005-06 (revised estimate).

The state did not yield to the temptation of taking ways and means advances even for a day, even during the toughest financial year 2005-06 — something which the state achieved after a long gap of 32 years.

Tax revenue growth has gone up from 7.69 per cent in 2002-03 to 18 per cent (average) during 2007-08 and is expected to maintain the same pace.

But intelligent fiscal management has not changed the lives of ordinary people. The dropout rate among schoolchildren continues to hover around 70 per cent, especially among lower income categories. State economic survey data also reveal the growth rate in primary sector has been estimated at 2.80 per cent in 2007-08 against 4.17 per cent in 2005-06.

The number of unemployed youth registered in employment exchanges increased from 466,000 in 2005 to 1.9 million in 2007 (June). The International Food Policy Research Institute report recently revealed that Madhya Pradesh ranked between Ethopia and Chad on the hunger index, even after completion of 12 stages of Bal Sanjeevni Abhiyan — a drive to insulate eight million children against malnutrition with a huge fund allocation of Rs 633.28 crore in 2007-08.

The state government is silent on how it would address the infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rates that are the highest in India, at 74 and 301 per 1,000, respectively.

Budget allocation of Rs 1,240.91 crore to improve power transmission and distribution and an additional allocation of Rs 1,371.40 crore for power sector reforms have failed to bridge the demand-supply gap of 1,000 MW. Age-old thermal power stations break down at regular intervals and daily power cuts are more than 10 hours in rural areas.

As many as 60 companies have queued up to invest in the power sector but poor governance has restricted them to project reports.

The law and order situation in the state is not satisfactory although Rs 500 crore was invested between 2004 and 2007 to modernise police forces. The number of cases of crimes against women has declined by a nominal 4.21 per cent during 2004 and 2005 and 2.7 per cent during 2005 and 2006, but the number is very high at 25,432.

 

CBI probe needed!

The BJP on Thursday demanded a CBI inquiry into the killing of Bihar youth Rahul Raj in a shootout with Mumbai Police, saying there were indications of “foul play” in the incident.

“The post-mortem report and the comments of the medical experts clearly indicate that there was foul play in the killing of the youth. Our party demands a CBI inquiry into the incident so that the truth is known,” party spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters here.

Asked if the party would follow suit of ally JD(U) which has asked its MPs to resign over the issue, Rudy said, “resignation can never be a solution.”

“It is time for all of us to keep aside our political priorities to ensure peace in society and security of North Indians in Maharashtra,” he said.

“We differ on the approach with our ally JD(U) on resignation. The JD(U) has taken this decision without any consultation,” he added.

Raj, a resident of Patna, was killed in a shootout with the police after he held a bus with 12 passengers hostage in Mumbai suburb Kurla on October 27. The killing sparked a furore with several parties demanding a judicial probe into the incident.

The autopsy of the youth was performed at the J J Hospital and was recorded on video before the body was sent to Patna for cremation. A doctor involved in the autopsy has said one of the bullets may have been fired from a close range.

Maharashtra Chief Secretary Johny Joseph is conducting an independent probe into the incident while the Mumbai Police Crime Branch is also carrying out an internal inquiry.

The Supreme Court will hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a judicial inquiry in the alleged encounter of Bihar youth Rahul Raj by Mumbai Police.

The PIL filled in the apex court also seeks a judicial probe into the alleged lynching of a UP labourer Dharam Rai, while he was travelling on a train in Badlapur in Maharashtra.

Earlier today, the autopsy conducted by a four-member panel of forensic experts at J J Hospital in Mumbai on Thursday confirmed that Rahul Raj was shot from very close range.

The panel of doctors which conducted the post mortem on Raj revealed that there were five bullet entry wounds on his body, all in the chest and head region. However, there were only four exit wounds as one bullet was recovered from the body.

The experts also confirmed that at least 12-13 rounds of bullets were fired by the Mumbai Police team in a bid to end the BEST bus hijack drama.

The autopsy report has not been made official and the panel of doctors will shortly submit it to the government.

The findings of the post-mortem could complicate things for the Maharashtra government and Mumbai Police, which is already under scanner for allegedly killing the 23-year-old youth from Bihar.

The finding is also expected to give credence to the allegations levelled by the Bihar government and Rahul Raj’s parents that Mumbai Police could have easily captured him, and there was no need to kill him.

The Additional Commissioner of Police Mumbai Sadanand Date had earlier supported the stand taken by the cops and warned that anybody trying to take law in his hands would also meet the same result.

Rahul Raj was killed by Mumbai Police when he tried to take a BEST bus hostage on gun point in order to send a strong message to MNS Chief Raj Thackeray for his party’s treatment to the North Indians.

The incident draw sharp reactions Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, who alleged that it was wrong to shoot down Raj could and he could have been caught alive.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also spoke to the Maharashtra CM, Vilas Rao Deshmukh, and asked him to insure the safety of all sections so that incidents like this are not repeated in the future.

My son was shot in fake encounter: Rahul’s father

Reacting to the autopsy report of Rahul Raj, his father today reiterated that the report vindicated his claim that his son was killed in a fake encounter.

“I have been saying from day one that my son was captured and then shot from point blank range. The forensic report of the J J hospital, Mumbai, has vindicated my stand. The Centre should now dismiss the Maharashtra government,” Singh, told reporters.

Questioning the Centre that how many more Biharis do it wants to be killed in Maharashtra before taking a firm action he said, “the policemen involved in the encounter had worn bullet-proof jackets and could have easily overpowered my son, who I don’t know from where procured the gun.”

Singh thanked the hospital authorities for making public an “impartial and unbiased forensic report despite being under tremendous pressure.”

“If the Centre does not take action against the perpetrators of the crime and the Maharashtra government, lakhs of Rahul Raj are prepared to make supreme sacrifice to secure justice,” he asserted.

 

Tehelka.com

Do Ethics Matter in Modern Journalism?

Lt. Col. Rajan Suresh (Retd)
(Lecturer, Department of Journalism, University of Kerala, Trivandrum, Kerala, India)

Tehelka.com has been the most frequently discussed media entity in India for the past three weeks. Every day the media, politicians and bureaucrats have managed to place it on the public agenda one way or the other. But there seems to be no benefit in store for the billion plus Indian population. Judging by similar precedents, ordinary people have no tangibles to hope for.

Tehelka did a very good job of duping some of the small fry in the arms business, and a few greedy civilian and army officers associated with arms purchases. They also managed to dupe important political functionaries such as Jaya Jaitley and R. K. Jain of the Samata Party and Bangaru Lakshman of the BJP. Tehelka established that many of their ‘victims’ took money, thereby going one step farther than Matt Drudge, the maverick American Journalist who set the trend of Web-journalism based mostly on sensational rumours. Tehelka obviously had their sights set on becoming ‘top-dog’ among the watchdogs of Indian polity. The reporter enjoyed celebrity status for a couple of days, and Zee TV, who had a stake in the sting, put the story out in all the channels they own, and most certainly raked in plenty of money. Tehelka’s stated purpose- `to expose corruption’, has bolstered their image as a smart team of modern day “investigative” journalists. Although debates have ensued about the rights and wrongs in legal terms, the case has raised serious questions about journalistic ethics and responsibility.

The West; particularly the United States and Britain, occasionally get to taste this genre of journalism. Private lives of `public figures’ and private lives of private figures are often exposed by journalists looking for sensational stories. President Clinton and Princess Diana were the most prominent targets in recent times. Journalists can now become super peeping-toms with the help of hidden cameras and high-tech surveillance gadgets. And to absolve themselves of criminal intent, the sordid details of many such “investigations” are thrust on unsuspecting people, claiming that a public interest is being served.

Western journalists also cheated and ruthlessly exploited ordinary people by impersonating social workers, counsellors or health-care personnel, to gather personal details that often led to painful consequences. A few classic examples can be found in Fineline, an American newsletter on Journalistic ethics. In a few cases, reporters managed to dupe the US Government, for getting first-hand information from protected sources. Robert Kapler, a small-time reporter pretending to be a security guard, breached the security set-up of a nuclear plant on Three Mile Island to prove that their security was weak. Jonathan Franklin, a freelance reporter signed up as a mortician at the Dover US Air Force Base to get accurate numbers of American soldiers who died in the Gulf War. Whether such reporting has brought about any change in the daily lives of American citizens, or whether it has done the public any good, are debatable.

Tehelka used a wily combination of impersonation, hidden cameras and bribery (all these being culpable offences under Indian Law) to get their tape recordings. The Government of India contends that if public interest was a prime concern, the tapes should not have gone public in such an explosive fashion. But on the other hand, it can be argued quite logically that if the tapes had not been revealed so spectacularly, they would have lost much of their impact. No doubt the largest party in the ruling alliance has been shaken, and some of their political allies unnerved. The Defence Minister has resigned, and higher echelons of the armed forces have been tainted to some extent. India’s opposition parties, led by the Congress (I) lost no time in calling for all sorts of “remedies”. Tehelka has provided some political gains for the Congress (I). This leads us to the crux of the matter. What was the real purpose of this expose- Public interest or Tehelka’s fame and fortune?

Middlemen are undesirable elements in any kind of deal; but the reality is that deals don’t go through without middlemen. Corruption is nothing new to the political and administrative set-up in independent India, and some members of the Armed Forces have committed crimes that are morally more serious; such as espionage for alien powers. The Samba spy scandal of the 70s and the later Coomer Narain- Larkins cases involved gratifications of far lesser magnitude for compromising national interests. But after nearly three decades, the incarcerated `spies’ stand absolved of the crime, and we hear nothing about the Larkins. Wouldn’t it be logical to assume that public attention would soon shift from the Tehelka expose? So the net effect would be to Tehelka’s sole advantage, unless Tarun Tejpal and his team persevere, forcing the judiciary or Parliament to set wrongs right. Will they keep at it, or withdraw from the scene saying that their job is over?

Tehelka has broken the story with damning footage on video tape, albeit a little out of focus and frequently out of perspective. The soundtracks and subtitles took on the task of convincing viewers about deals being struck and money changing hands. Unfortunately the odds do not favour Tehelka, simply because modern technology offers all and sundry the wherewithal to digitally manipulate moving images and sound through easy-to-use software packages. It would be a fairly simple task to `smart-edit’ video footage, add doctored sound tracks and put all sorts of filters to blur the final product so that it appears authentic. This is not an allegation that Tehelka has done so, but it would take a lot more proof before knowledgeable people are convinced of the video’s genuineness. Spielberg’s Jurassic Park has made us all skeptical about such `reality’.

Perhaps the best thing the Tehelka tapes did was to highlight human greed. They brought out a story that actually sent ripples through the Government, and made people sit up and take notice. They managed to assign values to individual gullibility. It is now established that the ruling party’s titular head can be bought for a hundred thousand rupees and a Major General in the Army for a fifth of that. There is no need to discuss the pros and cons of the matter or to probe whether the money went to party coffers or individuals’ pockets. And there is no justification in saying that “money was taken because it was offered”. Public figures have misbehaved, and Tehelka’s reporters have exposed them. Tehelka.com, on their part, have taken the law into their hands, and played a con game on unsuspecting (though mostly corrupt) persons. It does not constitute normal journalistic behaviour by any standards. A question of whether this investigative exercise has caused harm to the public is also being discussed, because speculations are rife that Indian soldiers as a whole are demoralized and feel `let down’ by the alleged compromises in arming and equipping them. If this situation is for real, then the consequences are not so much in the `public interest’, and there may be reason for the Government to brand Tejpal, Bahl and Mathew as mercenaries and traitors. It is catch 22 for the trio. But since we have Dawood Ibrahim, Ottavio Quattrocchi, Harshad Mehta and the more down-to-earth Veerappan calling the shots, it seems anyone can get away with anything in India. Tehelka.com ought to survive, and continue entertaining the Indian public in true Drudge fashion.

The ethical issues in this case remain anchored on two aspects. One being the motivation for Tehelka.com to take up the issue of bribes and commissions in defence deals at this point of time, when far bigger cases such as Bofors , HDW and Tangushka are still unresolved. It would do well for Tejpal to explain whether it was journalistic vigilantism or self-interest that encouraged Tehelka reporters to give away large amounts of cash and take such risks. The other pertains to the method adopted- in befriending touts, feeding, wining and bribing them, and on false pretexts, recording their tall claims with hidden cameras, and finally offering these recordings as news to the public. There is a need to supplement the sensational footage with more real proof and explanation; particularly to ensure that the `public’ are not fed half-truths and speculations.

http://cyberjournalist.org.in/archive/tehelka.html © Lt. Col. R. Suresh

 

Sadhvi Pragya in judicial

The Nasik court sent Sadhvi Pragya Singh, a prime accused in the Malegaon bomb blast case, to judicial custody till November 17. Two other accused Shiv Narayan and Shyamlal Sahu were also sent to judicial custody.

The Mumbai ATS arrested three other persons in connection with the blasts. They were remanded to police custody till November 10. The police claimed that one of the arrested, Ajay Raikar financed the terror group, which was involved in the Malegaon bomb blast. Six imported weapons were recovered from Ajay Raikar, the treasurer of Abhinav Bharat. Mumbai ATS is likely to conduct another narco test on Pragya Singh. It could be recalled that narco test and brain mapping conducted on Sadhvi Pragya Singh produced no results.

“I will speak when I get justice.”, said Pragya in the court. Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, argued her own case in the court. Pragya told the court that she and the two others arrested along with her were innocent and were being framed as part of a game plan to defame Hindutva movement. She also alleged torture by ATS officials during her interrogation before and after her formal arrest.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Shiv Sena, BJP, Hindu Maha Sabha and Abhinav Bharat workers shouted slogans against the Maharashtra government and Mumbai ATS outside the Nasik court. They also shouted slogans in favour of Sadhvi Pragya Singh. Shiv Sena has accused that UPA government is hatching a conspiracy to defame the Hindu organizations. RSS and BJP also came out in open to support Pragya Singh and questioned the theories of Mumbai ATS.

 

Bihari MP, MLA going to resign

The politicians from Bihar seem to be a divided lot yet again. Just a few days after they showed unity in slamming Raj Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Lalu, Nitish and Paswan indulged in blame game on Sunday.

When the all-party delegation from Bihar under the leadership of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar met PM Dr. Manmohan Singh a few days ago, the vowed to fight for the right of Biharis in Maharashtra. However, Nitish Kumar and changed the course and tried to take mileage alone by announcing that his party MPs (Lok Sabha) will resign en mass if Raj Thackeray is not brought to book by November 6. It is no secret that JD(U) is in the opposition at the Centre and elections are due just after 3 months.

RJD supremo and Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav took strong exception to Nitish Kumar’s unilateral decision and dared JD(U) to ask its MPs (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha), MLAs and MLCs if the party is really serious about the dignity and respect of Bihari people. Lalu offered to submit the resignation of all his party MPs, MLAs and MLCs by November 15, if Nitish, Paswan and other leaders from Bihar come to an unanimous decision.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has slammed both RJD and JD(U) over this resignation drama. “The statement by Lalu Prasad Yadav is nothing but another spell of rhetoric,” said BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who also hails from Bihar. He also criticised the JD(U) for taking such a decision in a huff without consulting the NDA partners. “The BJP feels that the north Indians in Maharashtra should be spared of the politicians and politics,” said Rudy.

 

Maharashtra government sent a preliminary report

The Maharashtra government has sent a preliminary report to the Home Ministry confirming that the man hailing from Uttar Pradesh was beaten to death on the train.

Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil has said his government is taking all possible steps to check the violence and will take stern action against the offenders.

Maharashtra government has announced a compensation of Rs two lakh for the family of Dharamdev Rai, a UP labourer beaten to death on Mumbai local train.

Twelve people have been detained for questioning in connection with the labourer’s killing. Railway police have begun probe into the case. They have said that some of the assailants were speaking in Marathi. Maharashtra DGP has sent a report to the Centre on the case.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has asked the Centre for a probe into the killing of Rai.

The post mortem report of the UP youth, who was beaten to death on Mumbai local train, shows he died of injuries to the liver.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil has spoken to Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Deputy Chief Minister on migrant’s death.

“We are taking all possible steps to check the violence. Violence on train falls under Railway police and stern action is being taken against the offenders. It is very difficult to check stray incidents of violence. We are in touch with Centre on Maharashtra violence,” said Vilasrao Deshmukh, Chief Minister, Maharashtra.

“We’ve registered a case of murder and are conducting an investigation. We take full responsibility of the safety of UP, Bihar migrants in Mumbai, ” said RR Patil, Deputy Chief Minister, Maharashtra told NDTV.

Earlier, Rai, a young man from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh died after he was severely beaten on a suburban train in Badlapur in Maharashtra. He was on his way home to Gorakhpur for Diwali.

Three of his friends who were travelling with him were also beaten. They rushed Dharamdev to a hospital where he was declared dead.

“If the government here wants, please help us move out of Maharashtra today itself. We don’t want to live here. How will you then earn a living? I will do something at home. Nobody dies of hunger in UP. I have passed Intermediate, couldn’t get a job there, so came here for a private job. I earn Rs 5,000 a month and if I don’t get a new job, I will do farming,” said Brahmadev Rai, brother of Dharmadev Rai.

One of the victim’s friends has claimed they were attacked by a group of Marathi speaking youth who abused them for taking up jobs in Mumbai.

“We were four of us. We took the train from Khopoli. Some people boarded the train on the way and started asking us questions, then they started abusing and beating us. They said why do you come to Mumbai for jobs? We kept saying we are going home for Diwali and we apologised but they paid little heed to it. My friend fell unconscious. As the train slowed down they jumped off. Police asked us to get off at Badlapur and we were brought to Dubey Hospital. But my friend was declared brought dead,” said Shivkumar Verma, one of the victims who was beaten up.

On its part, the BJP has blamed the Congress for propping up Raj Thackeray whose campaign against north Indians have led to the lynching.

 

Gov suspect Huji-ULFA

GUWAHATI: The toll in the serial blasts in Assam rose to 77 on Friday with 11 more

people succumbing to their injuries overnight.

Principal secretary (home) and official spokesman Subhas Das said eight people died in Guwahati, which now alone accounts for 41 deaths.

Three others succumbed to their injuries in Barpeta taking the toll there to 15.

The number of deaths in Kokrajhar remained at 21, he said.

In the deadliest terror attacks in Assam, near- simultaneous blasts had ripped through Guwahati, Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon and Barpeta on Thursday, killing 66 people and injuring about 470 others.

Meanwhile, curfew has been clamped in worst blast-hit area of Ganeshguri, adjacent to the capital complex at Dispur, here as protesters went on a rampage forcing police to fire in the air.

The protesters had gathered near a flyover – a few metres from the blast site, shouting slogans against the government’s alleged failure to provide security to the common people.

Deputy commissioner Prateek Hajela said the protesters, turned violent and went on a rampage attacking the security personnel deployed in the area.

The police first resorted to lathicharge to disperse the protesters but later fired in the air, Hajela said.

Ganeshguri had witnessed protests soon after the blasts on Thursday with the mob torching a police vehicle, a fire tender and two ambulances.

They had also tried to storm the secretariat carrying two charred bodies in a push cart.

The entry and exit road to the area has been sealed since the blasts and only a few vehicles were plying on the Ganeshguri flyover, which connects the Guwahati-Shillong road.

All shops and commercial establishments have remained closed in the area since morning. Attendance in the offices was also thin. Frequency of public transport operations dropped significantly in the morning hours.

BJP leader L K Advani visited the blast site near the deputy commissioner’s office where he faced a group of angry lawyers who shouted slogans ‘Advani go back’.

He also visited the Guwahati Medical College Hospital and met the injured in the blast.

All examinations scheduled under the Gauhati University and State Education Board of Assam (SEBA) have been cancelled till further directive.

Opposition Asom Gana Parishad observed a ‘Black Day’ today with its leaders and cadres sporting black badges.

Lawyers of both High Court and Sessions Court in Guwahati abstained from work and held protests outside the court premises.

Bangladesh-based HuJI militants along with other jehadi outfits are suspected to be behind the explosions. Although ULFA has denied its involvement in the terror attacks, police do not rule out the hand of ULFA behind the serial blasts with help from HuJI or jehadi elements.

Of the six blasts in Guwahati, RDX was used in two of the explosions, chief minister Tarun Gogoi has said, adding a special task force has been set up to unearth the conspiracy behind the blasts.

Assam has witnessed massive ethnic violence since early 1980s and ULFA-sponsored insurgency but this is the first time that a terror attack in the form of serial blasts rocked the state in such a magnitude.