Evangelists created tension in Karnataka: Judicial panel

Kestur Vasuki | Bangalore

‘BJP had no role in church attacks’

The one-man judicial commission that probed the 2008 attacks on churches in Karnataka has given a clean chit to the BS Yeddyurappa Government and Sangh Parivar. 

It felt that circulation of derogatory literature with “insulting attitude” against Hindus and issues of conversion by a few organisations and “self-styled pastors” were provocations behind the attacks. 

The panel gave the clean chit to Roman Catholic churches too, saying they did not engage in any conversion activity.

Absolving the State Government and police of any role, the Justice BK Somasekara Commission said, “There is no basis for the apprehension of Christian petitioners that BJP, Sangh Parivar and the State Government, directly or indirectly, were involved in the attacks.”

“The attacks were done by misguided fundamentalists of defined or undefined groups or organisations against Christians and Christianity. The attackers mistakenly presumed that they would be protected by the party in power,” the report added.

Disagreeing with the findings of the report, Bangalore vicar general Archdiocese S Jagayanathan said the probe report had not done justice to the minority community by not naming the culprits. 

“The commission has let down the Christian community. The entire Christian community is disappointed and feel the report is unfair,” the vicar general said. The clean chit to the ruling BJP comes at the time when the Chief Minister is battling with corruption and nepotism charges. 

In a significant reference, the commission in its highlights states that there were clear indications of conversions attempts in seven districts by a few organisations and “self-appointed pastors” with “inducements”. 

“There are clear indications of conversions to Christianity in the districts of Bangalore, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Bellary, Davanagere, Chikkamgaluru and Udupi by a few organisations and self-appointed pastors with the help of unaccounted funds from the foreign country,” the report states.

It seeks legislation to regulate Christian places of worship, like that of Hindus and Muslims under Article 25 of the Constitution. 

“The demand of Hindus for a suitable legislation to prevent practices detrimental to the interests of their religion is justified. The suggestion of the Government advocates, police and Hindu leaders to bring Christian places of worship under the ambit of legislations that are applicable to religious places of Hindus and Muslims is well-founded and accepted,” the report states. 

In September 2008, churches were vandalised in different parts of Karnataka — Mangalore, Udupi, Kolar, and Bellary. Some outfits linked to the BJP and the RSS had been accused of carrying out the attacks.

The panel, however, was critical of police and civil administration for not treating the Christians who protested against the attacks sympathetically. The panel said it had received 1,500 petitions and examined over 800 people.

The commission noted the Catholic Church did not indulge in conversions, except during marriages or when people voluntarily sought to become Catholics. However, the commission noted “clear indications of conversions to Christianity” in several districts by a few organisations and “self-appointed” pastors.

The report said the attacks “deeply affected” relations between Christians and Hindus who now suspect each other. It rejected the demand of some Hindu groups to ban Christian literatures.

Karnataka Home Minister R Ashoka told the media that the Government will look into the suggestions given by the commission and take suitable actions.

Meanwhile, the Congress rejected the report and said it was biased. Talking to the media, Karnataka Congress chief G Parameshwara said the party can’t accept the report. However he said the party will decide its next course of action after going through the report. 


Source: The Pioneer, January 29, 2011

After Rashtriya Ekta rally, BJP to take out rath yatra in Bengal

In an attempt to revive its political prospects in West Bengal, Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to come out with a rath yatra in the state. The 15-day “Nava Jagaran” yatra will kick off on January 30 at Coochbehar in North Bengal and culminate at Kolkata on February 15. A number of Central leaders of the party will address gatherings at various places during the yatra.

While former BJP president Rajnath Singh will flag off the yatra at Coochbehar, Lal Krishna Advani will be present at the rally in Kolkata.

Announcing the programme, Ranhul Sinha, the party’s West Bengal unit chief and Chandan Mitra Rajya Sabya MP said the yatra will cover Coochbehar, Alipurduar, Farraka, Krishnagar, Bongaon, Basirhat and Deganga. The yatra will also cover Singur areas of East and West Midnapur and Howrah.

According to senior party leaders, BJP leader in Lok Sabha Susma Swaraj, Shahnawaj Hussain, Hema Malini, Murli Manohar Joshi and Smirti Irani will take part in the rally. The BJP leaders are also planning to bring chief ministers like Narendra Modi and Arjun Munda during to attend the rally.

“The party will raise the issue of corruption, 2G scam, price hike and politics of dead in West Bengal by the two main political parties. We will also object to the reservation on the basis of religion in the state,” said Mitra who is party observer in Bengal

Recently party youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) had flagged off Rashtriya Ekta Yatra from Shyambazar. The two yatras having presence of so many Central leaders suggest the party is serious about the state. “We need to work at the booth level to reap the benefits of the Yatra,” said Tapan Sikdar, BJP leader and former MP from the state.

At present the party has no participation in state Assembly. The vote share of the party in the last Assembly polls was 6.1 percent. The last time the party had a representation in Assembly was in 2001.

According to senior leaders, the party has identified about 20 seats and have started working at booth level in those seats in the state. “We know percentage of votes is not enough but we need to convert it into assembly seats,” said Mitra at the sidelines of the programme.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/after-rashtriya-ekta-rally-bjp-to-take-out-rath-yatra-in-bengal/738932/0

Tell Pakistan to stop exporting terror to India: BJP tells China

Beijing, Jan 21 (IANS) China has an influence over Pakistan and the BJP expects Beijing to put pressure on Islamabad to stop exporting terror to India and to act against the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack, Nitin Gadkari, the chief of India's main opposition party, told Chinese leaders here Friday.

Gadkari, who is the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president to visit China, conveyed to the Chinese leaders his party's serious concern over Pakistan-sponsored cross-border terrorism and told them that there was strong public opinion in India against Beijing's development projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Gadkari, in his wide-ranging talks with leaders of the Communist Party of China, also told them that Beijing's reported attempts to block Pakistan-based terrorist outfits like Jamaat-ud-Dawah from being black-listed by the UN was having an adverse impact on the BJP's efforts to improve people-to-people contacts between the two countries, a statement said.

The BJP president is on a five-day goodwill visit to China along with a delegation of senior party leaders. He held discussions with Ai Ping, the Chinese vice-minister in the international department of the Communist Party of China, and also met Li Changchun, a senior leader of the nine-member Standing Committee of the political Bureau of the CPC.

Gadkari told the Chinese leadership that terrorism was a common concern for mankind.

'Terrorism does not recognize any boundaries and there are very strong growing inter-linkages amongst terror groups,' Gadkari said, and hoped that both India and China would work closely with the international community to strengthen the global framework against terrorism.

To Gadkari's urging China to use its good offices with Pakistan to pressure it to stop exporting terror to India and act against the perpetrators of all acts of terrorism on Indian soil, including those behind the Mumbai attack, the Chinese leaders shared the BJP leader's concern.

The Chinese leaders said Beijing 'understands the importance of all the issues raised by the BJP president'.

Gadkari also took up with the Chinese leaders the issue of stapled visas for the people of Arunanchal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and conveyed his party's strong position on the issue. He hoped Beijing would resolve the matter at the earliest as it was damaging China's image among the Indian people.

Gadkari also took up China's military assistance and the supply of nuclear reactors to Pakistan and said these did not augur well for strengthening bilateral relations between India and China.

The BJP chief told the Chinese leaders that the party believes that the festering boundary issue should be resolved through peaceful negotiations and in a fair, reasonable, mutually acceptable and pro-active manner.

The BJP delegation includes two general secretaries, Thawarchand Gehlot and Vijay Goel, joint-organizing secretary, Saudan Singh, and secretaries Arti Mehra and Laxman Kova, Vinay Sahasrabudhe and Vijay Jolly.

http://www.sify.com/news/tell-pakistan-to-stop-exporting-terror-to-india-bjp-tells-china-news-international-lbvskuceibe.html

Ekta yatra getting massive response: BJYM

SHIMLA: With J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah having reiterating his concern at the plan of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) to unfurl the national flag at conclusion of its Rashtriya Ekta Yatra at Srinagar's Lal Chowk on January 26, and asked them not to do so, the resolve of the organization has only gone stronger. National president Anurag Thakur claimed, "This yatra is for the honour and respect of the tricolour and will conclude after unfurling the national flag at Lal Chowk.''

The state wing of the organization is getting its members ready to embark to Srinagar to be present on Republic Day for what they termed as a historic occasion when the national president unfurls the tricolour, national general secretary BJYM and incharge of the yatra, Manoranjan Mishra said that the tremendous response being given to the yatra was an indication that people were for the unity and integrity of the country.

He said that on the fifth day the yatra started from Varanasi and reached Amethi via Jaunpur and Sultanpur and in his public meeting at Amethi, the parliamentary constituency of Congress youth icon, Rahul Gandi, the BJYM national president made it clear that the yatra will not stop and go ahead to its concluding point at Lal Chowk in Srinangar, where the tricolour will be unfurled.

The huge crowd in support of the yatra at Amethi was evident of the fact that people of the country were fed up with the so-called legacy of the Gandhi family and its days were numbered. People from the public came out to the dais and blessed Anurag and even presented him with a sword, while a 75-year-old woman handed a tricolour to him and gave him her blessings, he claimed.

Times of India, 17 Jan 2011

BJP protest against petrol price hike

Riding cycles, cycle rickshaws and even bullock carts, a large number of Bharatiya Janata Party workers held a demonstration on Parliament Street here on Tuesday to protest against the rise in the prices of all essential commodities and the recent hike in petrol prices.

Led by Delhi BJP president Vijender Gupta, the protesters, who included eight MLAs, raised slogans against the ``anti-people’’ policies of the Congress-led Government at the Centre. After being addressed by the party leaders, the protesters moved towards Parliament. They broke through some of the police barricades and later courted arrest when the police used water canons to disperse them and prevented their further advance towards Parliament.

Earlier, addressing the protesters, Mr. Gupta charged that the Central Government was playing a ``double game’’ to demoralise the people. ``On the one hand the Group of Ministers is formed on paper to curb price spiral and on the other the Government is trying to deprive the common man of his bread by increasing the price of petrol by Rs.5.50 within a month.’’

''Nowhere in the world is the tax on oil so high as it is in India,'' he said, adding that here the Government recovers more tax than the price of oil’’. Mr. Gupta said if the UPA Government were to only abolish the customs duty from the price of oil and the Delhi Government reduces the local tax, the price of oil could in fact go down. ``But all the policies and schemes of this anti-people Government are against the common man and in favour of the corporate world,’’ he said.

Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijay Kumar Malhotra said This Government is taking such steps in the name of curbing price spiral which are actually fuelling the price rise on a daily basis.’’

The other prominent leaders who participated in the protest included former Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana, MLAs Jagdish Mukhi and Ramesh Bidhuri, former MLA Vijay Jolly and senior Delhi BJP leaders O.P. Kohli, Subhash Arya and Pawan Sharma.

The Hindu, 18th Jan 2011

Name those who have money in foreign banks : BJP

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday demanded that the government reveal the names of Indians who have stashed money in banks abroad, wondering why it was 'doggedly' refusing to do so.

"What is the reason behind the dogged refusal to reveal names of those who have stashed money in foreign banks?" BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said here.

Referring to the Central Board of Direct Taxes submitting to the apex court on Monday a list of Indians who have accounts in Liechtenstein's LGT Bank, Prasad said the government was not revealing the names citing the double taxation avoidance agreement.

He said the government stance was "illogical".

"BJP demands the government to be proactive if its intentions are correct. People expect the government to reveal the names of the account holders," Prasad said.

"We expect that this should come about quickly and let the nation know who has done what service for the nation or for personal enrichment," he added.

The BJP demand comes in the wake of names of 2,000 secret account holders in Swiss banks, including individuals and corporates from the UK, Asia and the US, handed over by a former banker to WikiLeaks on Monday.

'We are interested in the names from India and the entire country expects that those who have looted public money and invested abroad in Swiss bank accounts, their names should also be exposed,' Prasad said.

Prasad said that Germany has shared information with the government about bank accounts and wondered what action has been taken.

National Flag hosting controversy in Jammu and Kashmir by BJYM

Gadkari launches march to hoist national flag at Srinagar

BJP Leaders in Shyambazar crossing

Kolkata, Jan 12 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Nitin Gadkari Wednesday launched the Rashtriya Ekta Yatra, or the national unity march, that will conclude Jan 26 with the hoisting of the national flag at Srinagar's historic Lal Chowk, a move opposed by the Jammu and Kashmir government.

According to the BJP, the yatra's purpose is to uphold the unity of India and bind the youth of India with Kashmir.

Anurag Thakur and Rahul Sinha in Ekata Yatra

The yatra, on a bus converted to look like a chariot used by Hindu warriors of yore, will pass through 11 states before reaching Lal Chowk, the centre of Srinagar, on Republic Day Jan 26.

Gadkari kicked off the yatra by handing over the tricolour to Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) president Anurag Thakur.

'This is very unfortunate that after 63 years of independence we need to go to Kashmir for hoisting a flag. Lakhs of Kashmiri Pandits have been evicted from Kashmir. Congress is only interested in vote bank politics,' Gadkari said after launching the yatra.

'The problem of Kashmir is because of the appeasement policies of the Congress. Why is it that this government doesn't have the courage to say no to 'azaadi' (freedom) and they have to stay in Kashmir. Kashmir is an integral part of India and it will remain so,' Gadkari said.

Anurag Thakur at Shyambazar

This 'Ekta Yatra' has drawn much attention after Kashmiri separatist leader Muhammad Yasin Malik challenged the BJP's decision to hoist the national flag at Lal Chowk.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also asked the BJP not to hoist the national flag at Lal Chowk as this would unnecessarily 'provoke' the people of Kashmir.

(Source: Sify News)

People of Karnataka gave a fitting reply to Sh. H.R.Bhardwaj

People of Karnataka gave a fitting reply to Sh. H.R.Bhardwaj, Governor of Southern  Indian State of  Karnataka, by electing majority of BJP Candidates in Zilla and Taluk/Village Panchayat elections.

For the last one year, Governor is working hard in coalition with Christian lobbies to dislodge the first ever Hindu Government in the Southern part of India.

After the Hindu Government’s came to power in Karnataka, Gujarat etc. fraudulent conversion of innocent poor Hindu’s to Christianity by missionaries came to a halt. Therefore Christian lobbies are working hard with Governor and some news agencies to defame and dislodge the Hindu Government.

In the Zilla panchayat elections Hindu party got 12 out 30 panchayats, and pro-Christian parties like Congress and Janta Dal (S) got 4 each.

In the Taluk/Village panchayat elections, Hindu party got 67 out of 176, and pro-Christian parties like Congress and Janta Dal (S) got 29 and 27 respectively.

This message clearly shows that Hindu’s can not be fooled by false allegations on first Hindu Government in Karnataka.

BJP focuses on corruption at National Executive meeting in Guwahati

Incensed over Communications Minister Kapil Sibal's outright rubbishing of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on 2G spectrum allocation and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Order that the Rs 41 crore kickbacks paid to Bofors agents were taxable, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today launched a broadside against the Government and said the party would thwart all hush-up operations.

The party's National Executive, which started here today, is all set to come up with a resolution on corruption, which according to party sources, will highlight the alleged corruption of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government and draw up a blueprint to take up the issue both in and outside Parliament, even at the cost of stalling the coming Budget Session.

The Winter Session of the Parliament was entirely washed out without transacting any business.

The leaders attending the conclave aired serious concerns over Mr Sibal's latest stand that the CAG had arrived at an erroneous conclusion that the loss to the exchequer was Rs 1.76 lakh crore and said that, with this development, there would be no compromise at all on their demand for a probe by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) into the affair.

If there was no loss to the exchequer, the Government must explain why they made DMK's A Raja resign as Communications Minister, they said. They also said Mr Sibal's argument had negated the existence of the CAG, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a top BJP leader said.

The party averred that it would not get into the trap of the Congress attempts to divert the issue of corruption and terror and the party would stick to its stand.

The verdict of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, that the Rs 41-crore commission paid to Bofors agent Win Chadha and Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi was taxable, has given the BJP a big stick to hit a combative Congress with at the two-day meeting taking place in this picturesque city on the banks of the Brahmaputra.

With the Congress dumping the 2G spectrum issue, the BJP has caught on to the age-old Bofors issue which got revived by the ITAT order which directly links with the Bofors agents -- Win Chadha and Italian fugitive businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, believed to have direct connections with the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's house when the scam broke out in the mid-1980s.

Top party leaders including Chairman of the BJP Parliamentary Party L K Advani, BJP President Nitin Gadkari, Leaders of Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley and Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states, have all arrived in this state, which is due to elect a new legislative assembly before May 26 this year.

The party will link its corruption resolution with the rising prices to pursuance of wrong policies and non-governance and a massive rally against corruption has been proposed to be held on Sunday.

A whopping 18 per cent rise in food commodity prices, denial of development to the masses and governance are the other issues that will be under sharp focus.

Although the party has announced its decision to go it alone in the Assam elections, the leadership has not ruled out the possibility of a tie-up with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP).

United News of India

Guwahati, January 8, 2011

Congress abusing CBI to implicate RSS leaders

Guwahati, Jan 7 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of abusing the CBI to falsely implicate some leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in terror attacks.

'The selective leaks by the CBI and other investigating agencies that are seeking to implicate certain leaders of the RSS are highly condemnable,' BJP general secretary Ravi Shankar Prasad told journalists here.

Although the BJP leader did not take the name of any RSS leader, the obvious reference was to media reports on the sensational confession of Swami Aseemanand in the 2007 Samjhauta Express blasts.

'The confession was made under the duress of the investigating agency, but firing the gun against the RSS and the VHP from the shoulders of someone else as the NIA (National Investigation Agency) is doing by selective leaks is deeply condemnable,' the BJP leader said.

Prasad said the BJP would welcome action against anyone if found guilty of or involved in terror attacks.

'Let there be a fair investigation and we would welcome action against anyone if found guilty,' the BJP leader said.

'We never say Muslim terrorism, but call it Jehadi terrorism. But we don't like the expression Hindu terrorism or saffron terror as terrorism has no religion.'

Prasad launched a vitriolic attack on the Congress party, saying the UPA government was using the CBI to make selective leaks to cover up rampant corruption and scams.

'The record of the Congress and the UPA in the abuse of the CBI and other investigating agencies for its own selfish ends is too well known. The Congress is notorious for abusing the CBI,' the BJP leader said.

'The Congress is sinking into an ocean of corruption day by day and hence trying to divert the attention with these sinister selective leaks, which is condemnable.'

The BJP leader is in Guwahati to take part in the party's two-day national executive meeting beginning Saturday.

http://www.sify.com/news/congress-abusing-cbi-to-implicate-rss-leaders-says-bjp-news-national-lbhr4gdfbcg.html

BJP MP dares Malik on Lal Chowk flag

Kolkata, Jan 5 (IANS) Kashmiri separatist leader Muhammad Yasin Malik must clarify which flag he wants to see hoisted at Srinagar's Lal Chowk on Republic Day, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP demanded here Wednesday.

'Yasin Malik should clarify which country's flag he wants to see there. We know he wants to see the flag of Pakistan there. His dream will never be fulfilled,' BJP MP Chandan Mitra told reporters here.

While addressing a seminar in Srinagar Tuesday, Malik had challenged BJP's decision to hoist the national flag at the Lal Chowk on Republic Day.

'If the BJP intends to go ahead with its decision, we will see whose flag is hoisted at Lal Chowk,' Malik had said.

Mitra also condemned Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for asking BJP not to hoist the national flag at Lal Chowk.

The youth wing of the BJP, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, is scheduled to organise Rashtriya Ekta Yatra from Kolkata to Srinagar for the unity of the nation and to bind the youth of India with Kashmir

The rally will start Jan 12 from Kolkata and pass through 11 states before reaching Lal Chowk in Srinagar Jan 26. Hoisting the national flag there will mark the end of the rally.

Asked whether the BJP youth wing was trying to compete with the Youth Congress under Rahul Gandhi, Morcha national secretary Bani Tripathy said: 'We don't want any comparisons because we don't believe in any individual-oriented or family-oriented politics.

'A family runs Congress party. It's entirely their prerogative how the Youth Congress will function,' she said. (Sify News)

BJP major winner in Karnataka district elections

Bangalore: Karnataka's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday emerged as a major winner in polls to the local governing councils but it suffered setbacks in the home turf of Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and the powerful Reddy brothers.

Of the 30 zila (district) panchayats, the BJP bagged 12, Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) four each while in the remaining 10 it was a split verdict.

Of the 176 taluka (sub-district) panchayats, the BJP won 68, Congress 31 and JD-S 29 while no party emerged a clear winner in the remaining 48.

But for Yeddyurappa, whose continuance depends on the party's show in these polls, it was a major setback as in his home district of Shimoga, the BJP barely managed to win the zila panchayat, bagging 16 of the 31 seats and conceding 13 to the Congress and two to the JD-S.

The Reddy brothers, who are mining barons and ministers, were in for a shock as the BJP failed to get a majority in the 36-member Bellary zila panchayat. The party won just 18 seats, with the Congress taking 17 and the JD-S one. 

Of the brothers, the younger one G. Janardhana Reddy is the tourism minister and the elder G. Karunakara Reddy holds the revenue portfolio. The Reddys face charges of illegal iron ore mining and income tax evasion.

Yeddyurappa hailed his party's show, though it fell short of the sweep that he and state BJP president K.S. Eshwarappa were predicting. Both had been confidently saying that their party would capture power in at least 20 of the 30 zila panchayats and over 100 of the 176 taluka panchayats.

'I thank the voters for their optimum support to the BJP,' Yeddyurappa, who led the party battling charges of nepotism in prime land allotment to his kin in and around Bangalore, told reporters.

'Earlier, the BJP was considered an urban-based party. These results have shown that the BJP has a huge rural base,' he said.

At a separate press meet, Eshwarappa said he was confident that the BJP would be in power in 14 of the 30 zila panchayats, 12 on its own and two with the help of Independents.

The Congress, though putting up a poor show compared to the 2005 zila panchayat and taluka panchayat polls when it was a clear winner, hailed its performance in Bellary and Shimoga.

State unit president G. Parameshwara and central labour minister Mallikharjun Kharge said the BJP's show in the two districts considered its stronghold showed 'people's anger over corruption in the government'.

Over 65 percent of the around 21 million voters, nearly half of them women, cast their ballots in the elections to the 30 zila and 176 taluka panchayats Dec 26, Dec 31 and Jan 1.

The BJP, Congress and JD-S were locked in a three-way fight in a majority of the 1,013 zila and 3,659 taluka panchayat seats.

These are the first elections to the local governing councils after the BJP came to power in the state in May 2008.

http://www.sify.com/news/bjp-major-winner-in-karnataka-district-elections-news-national-lbeqEmdighf.html

ADVANI FLAYS CONG, SAYS EMERGENCY OF 1975 AKIN TO NAZI RULE

The 172-page book published by the Congress Party with the title “Congress and the Making of the Indian Nation” carries just two short paragraphs to tell the country what happened during the emergency of 1975-77. The two paragraphs are as follows:

“The period of the emergency saw the suspension of normal political procedures and fundamental rights, arrests of the leaders of the Grand Alliance, and enforcement of press censorship and strict discipline. Extreme communal and leftist organizations were banned.  More than one lakh people were arrested over the 19 months of the Emergency. Powers of the judiciary were reduced drastically.  Unlimited state and party power was concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister.

Vast sections of the population welcomed it initially since general administration improved. But, civil rights activists took exception to the curbs on freedom of expression and personal liberties. Unfortunately, in certain spheres, over-enthusiasm led to compulsion in enforcement of certain programmes like compulsory sterilization and clearance of slums. Sanjay Gandhi had, by then, emerged as a leader of great significance. It was due to his support to family planning that the government decided to pursue it more vigorously. He also promoted slum clearance, anti-dowry measures and promotion of literacy but in an arbitrary and authoritarian manner much to the annoyance of the popular opinion.”

These two curt paragraphs are preceded by two full pages about factors leading to the emergency in which Jaya Prakash Narayan’s “extra-constitutional and undemocratic movement” on the one hand and the Allahabad High Court’s verdict on the other hand, charging Smt. Gandhi with violating the election law to win her seat and invalidating her election, have been identified as the two factors which led to the Emergency.

The second paragraph from the book quoted above is a ridiculous attempt to make Sanjay Gandhi a scapegoat for all the misdeeds the country had to suffer during the Emergency.  In the last sixty years, whenever the executive has found a judicial verdict unpalatable its reaction has been to have the verdict undone by mobilizing legislative support for the executive’s view point.  In 1975 also this was sought to be done by amending the law in respect of electoral corruption.  But Mrs. Gandhi did not stop there.  Without consulting her Cabinet, or even her Law Minister and Home Minister, she made President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed invoke Art., 352 to put democracy under indefinite suspension. The Congress Party publication indicates that the Party regrets only the ‘excesses’ committed during the Emergency, because Sanjay Gandhi promoted worthwhile causes such as slum-clearance, anti-dowry measures, and literacy, but in an arbitrary and authoritarian manner.

I hold that promulgation of the Emergency itself was an unforgivable crime against Democracy and that the constitution makers had never ever conceived that any Prime Minister of independent India would so grossly abuse Art. 352 of the Constitution.

I am very happy therefore that lately (November, 2010) the Supreme Court has revisited the Emergency and affirmed that the A.N. Ray majority judgement of the Supreme Court during the Emergency was erroneous and that the lone dissenting judgement of Justice H.R. Khanna is the law of the land today. In a lecture delivered in February, 2009 former Chief Justice Venkatachallaiah commented that the 1976 majority judgement deserved to be “confined to the dustbin of history”.

The Congress Party has admitted that more than one lakh persons were jailed during the Emergency. The exact number was 1,10,806. Of these 34,988 were detained under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act whereunder no grounds were to be given to the prisoner. These prisoners included Jayaprakash Narain, Morarji Desai, Chandra Shekhar, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Bala Saheb Deoras, and a large number of MPs, MLAs and eminent journalists.

Almost all MISA detenues had filed habeas corpus petitions in their respective State High Courts. At all places, Government had raised the same objection: in an Emergency, all Fundamental Rights are suspended and so no detenue has a right to file a Habeas Corpus petition. Almost all the High Courts rejected the Government’s objection and ruled in favour of the petitioners. Government not only went in appeal to the Supreme Court but actually punished the judges who had allowed the petitions. The diary I used to maintain while I was in prison records the names of 19 judges who were transferred to other High Courts because they had decided against Government !

My diary also records under the date December 16, 1975 :

The Supreme Court has been hearing GOI’s appeal against the High Court judgements in favour of MISA prisoners. This includes our case also. Justice Khanna is reported to have pointed out to (Attorney General) Niren De that Article 21 of the Constitution deals with the right not only to personal liberty but also to life.  Is it the stand of the Attorney General that even if a person is killed he has no remedy because enforcement of this right has been suspended ?  Niren De replies: “It weighs on my conscience.  But that is the position in law.”

Pronouncing majority judgement in this appeal, Supreme Court Bench comprising of  C.J. A.N.Ray, Justices H.R.Khanna, M.H.Beg, Y.V. Chandrachud and P.N. Bhagwati (Justice Khanna dissenting ) declared : “In view of the Presidential Order dated 27 June, 1975 no person has any locus standi to move any writ petition under Art 226 before a High Court for habeas corpus .

“The appeals are accepted. The Judgements of the High Courts are set aside”

 In his historic dissenting judgement, Justice Khanna observed:

“Sanctity of life and liberty was not something new when the Constitution was drafted.  It represented a facet of higher values which mankind began to cherish in its evolution from a state of tooth and claw to a civilized existence. Likewise, the principle that no one shall be deprived of his life and liberty without the authority of law was not the gift of the Constitution. It was a necessary corollary of the concept relating to the sanctity of life and liberty; it existed and was in force before the coming into force of the Constitution.

“It has been argued that suspending the right of a person to move any Court for the enforcement of right to life and personal liberty is done under a constitutional provision and therefore it cannot be said that the resulting situation would mean the absence of the rule of law. This argument in my opinion, cannot stand close scrutiny for it tries to equate illusion of the rule of law with the reality of rule of law.  Supposing a law is made that in the matter of the protection of life and liberty, the administrative officers would not be governed by any law and that it would be permissible for them to deprive a person of life and liberty without any authority of law. In one sense, it might in that event be argued that even if lives of hundreds of persons are taken capriciously and maliciously without the authority of law, it is enforcement of the above enacted law. Thus, in a purely formal sense, any system or norm based on a hierarchy of orders, even the organized mass murders of Nazi regime can qualify as law.”

Justice Khanna passed away on 25 February 2008, at age ninety five. In its editorial after he delivered his landmark judgement, the New York Times  wrote on 30 April, 1976, “If India ever finds its way back to the freedom and democracy that were proud hallmarks of its first 18 years as an independent nation, someone will surely erect a monument to Justice H.R. Khanna of the Supreme Court”.