Riot report can rock Cong boat too
Reopening the Srikrishna Commission report might turn out to be a double-edged sword for the Congress.
By Girish Kuber, TNN |
MUMBAI: Reopening the Srikrishna Commission report might turn out to be a double-edged sword for the Congress. Though it’s mainly Shiv Sena workers who have been indicted in the report on Mumbai’s worst-ever communal violence, the trouble for the Congress is that some former Sainiks are now with the party.
The riots in December 1992 and January 1993 had claimed nearly 900 lives. The Sena-BJP combine, during its 1995-99 rule, had rejected the report. Now, the Congress-NCP government is digging it up following renewed calls for justice in the wake of the sentencing of the accused in the Mumbai blasts, which followed the riots.
But some of the old ‘fiery’ Sainiks are now with the Congress, the most prominent of them being revenue minister Narayan Rane. The former chief minister was an ‘active’ Sena leader though he is not indicted in the report. “But the fact that he was a well-known Sena face very close to Bal Thackeray is big enough to embarrass the Congress,” a Congress minister in the Vilasrao Deshmukh government admitted.
In fact, he suspects that a few fellow partymen might have fuelled the current debate on the Srikrishna Commission report. “If reopened, the Srikrishna Commission report is bound to bring considerable discomfort to Mr Rane, who was a powerful Sena leader then. This may in the end affect his aspirations to become the chief minister,” the minister said. Interestingly, Mr Rane has brought as many as eight MLAs from the Sena to the Congress. His close confidant and former Sena leader Srikant Sarmalkar, too, is in the Congress. All of them were active Sainiks once. “Their role could also come under microscope,” a Congress leader said.
Mr Rane’s colleague in the Cabinet, Babanrao Pachpute, too, may not be pleased with the reopening of the report. A minister of home in the Sena-BJP government, Mr Pachpute is accused of interfering in police investigations. He is believed to have directed the police to free some rioters. Some of the police officers who deposed before the commission are understood to have given statements about Mr Pachpute’s involvement. Currently, he is the minister for forests in the Vilasrao Deshmukh Cabinet.
Congress MP from Mumbai North Central, Eknath Gaikwad, may also be feeling uneasy. Though a typical Congressman, Mr Gaikwad was active during the 1992-93 riots. According to sources, even the Srikrishna Commission has questioned his role in the riots.
Former railway minister CK Jafar Sharief is also said to have interfered in the police’s functioning. The Karnataka leader has been accused of pressurising the law enforcing machinery to release some of the accused from the police lock-up. “Reopening the issue is easier said than done, with the Opposition already flexing its muscles,” another Congress leader said. Sena chief Bal Thackeray has dubbed the Congress’ decision as a ploy to ‘hang Hindus’ while BJP veteran LK Advani has described it as politics of appeasement.
The riots in December 1992 and January 1993 had claimed nearly 900 lives. The Sena-BJP combine, during its 1995-99 rule, had rejected the report. Now, the Congress-NCP government is digging it up following renewed calls for justice in the wake of the sentencing of the accused in the Mumbai blasts, which followed the riots.
But some of the old ‘fiery’ Sainiks are now with the Congress, the most prominent of them being revenue minister Narayan Rane. The former chief minister was an ‘active’ Sena leader though he is not indicted in the report. “But the fact that he was a well-known Sena face very close to Bal Thackeray is big enough to embarrass the Congress,” a Congress minister in the Vilasrao Deshmukh government admitted.
In fact, he suspects that a few fellow partymen might have fuelled the current debate on the Srikrishna Commission report. “If reopened, the Srikrishna Commission report is bound to bring considerable discomfort to Mr Rane, who was a powerful Sena leader then. This may in the end affect his aspirations to become the chief minister,” the minister said. Interestingly, Mr Rane has brought as many as eight MLAs from the Sena to the Congress. His close confidant and former Sena leader Srikant Sarmalkar, too, is in the Congress. All of them were active Sainiks once. “Their role could also come under microscope,” a Congress leader said.
Mr Rane’s colleague in the Cabinet, Babanrao Pachpute, too, may not be pleased with the reopening of the report. A minister of home in the Sena-BJP government, Mr Pachpute is accused of interfering in police investigations. He is believed to have directed the police to free some rioters. Some of the police officers who deposed before the commission are understood to have given statements about Mr Pachpute’s involvement. Currently, he is the minister for forests in the Vilasrao Deshmukh Cabinet.
Congress MP from Mumbai North Central, Eknath Gaikwad, may also be feeling uneasy. Though a typical Congressman, Mr Gaikwad was active during the 1992-93 riots. According to sources, even the Srikrishna Commission has questioned his role in the riots.
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Former railway minister CK Jafar Sharief is also said to have interfered in the police’s functioning. The Karnataka leader has been accused of pressurising the law enforcing machinery to release some of the accused from the police lock-up. “Reopening the issue is easier said than done, with the Opposition already flexing its muscles,” another Congress leader said. Sena chief Bal Thackeray has dubbed the Congress’ decision as a ploy to ‘hang Hindus’ while BJP veteran LK Advani has described it as politics of appeasement.
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