Disgruntled by the humiliation the party faced in the Telangana assembly elections, many Congress leaders are of the opinion that the grand alliance the party formed with three other parties ahead of the December 7 assembly elections in Telangana should be discontinued.
The Congress along with its allies were completely wiped out from the state, after the whopping victory of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which managed to sweep the polls winning 88 out of 119 seats. The Congress won 19 out of the 100 seats it contested. Its alliance partner, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), won two seats. The other allies, the Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) and Communist Party of India (CPI) could not win any seats.
Several Congress leaders now believe that the party would have done better in the elections if it had contested alone. A Congress member expressing dissatisfaction with Congress allying with TDP believed that partnering with the TDP did the party more harm than good. “It was initially thought that TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu’s campaign would help attract votes of the (Andhra) settlers,’’ he said on condition of anonymity.
Congress leader and former MP Vijayashanti said that Congress should have contested the elections alone, “I cautioned against forging an alliance with the TDP, as the people of Telangana are still opposed to Naidu,’” she said referring to the disgruntlement the people of Telangana believe to have for Chandrababu Naidu, as he had objected to the formation of Telangana state, thereby invoking the Telangana sentiment. “But it was the high command’s decision to go for the alliance. Now, we should be cautious”, Vijayashanti furthered.
The Congress’ Telangana campaign committee chairman, Malli Bhatti Vikramarka, emphasised that the alliance was only for the assembly elections. “We cannot say now whether the alliance will continue. The party high command will take a call,” he said.
While TJS president M Kodandaram informed that the party would take the decision whether or not the alliance should continue when the need arises, CPI state secretary Chada Venkat Reddy took this opportunity to blame Congress for the delay in concluding the seat-sharing deal and citing this as the prime reason for the Prajakutami alliance to be a wipeout in the state.
However, the TDP leaders are still optimistic that the alliance will continue, saying that they see no reason why the alliance should not work. “I do not see any reason why the experiment should fizzle out. The TDP, TJS and CPI leaders attended the swearing-in ceremonies of Congress chief ministers in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh,’’ said Telangana TDP general secretary Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy, saying that this itself proves that they are still united.
Drawing up the map for India’s future, Prime Minister Modi while giving the keynote address at Republic TV summit, reiterated that the future of India is bright.
“Did anyone even dream that India will jump to 77th rank from 142 in Ease of Doing Business in four years? India is marching towards top 50,” PM Modi said. Speaking on financial inclusion and last-mile connectivity, PM Modi said that rickshaw drivers, vegetable vendors and even tea-sellers are now using BHIM app with ease. He added that the aviation sector is growing at such a pace that companies would have to order 1,000 new aircraft. “Had anyone thought that national waterways will ever become a reality? That a vessel will sail in the Ganga from Kolkata and reach Varanasi?” he added.
“No one even would have thought that those Congress leaders responsible for the 1984 genocide will ever be brought to justice,” he added. Speaking on the corruption charges levelled against his government, he said, “In our country, there is a psychology that if corruption charges are put up against the government, they must be true. That the government must be wrong and the one who has put up the allegations must be right. But it has happened for the first time that some people accused the government of wrongdoings but the apex court of the country told them that whatever has happened has happened with complete transparency.”
Furthering his report-card, Modi said that before 2014, the cleanliness percentage of India was not even 40%. It has now reached as much as 97%. He said that this has given a very strong picture of the ‘Surging India’. “This has happened because of ‘policy-driven governance’ and ‘predictable transparent policies’. It is because of these that the highways and railway lines are constructed at double the speed in India. Villages are getting electrified and work is on on more than 100 new airports and heliports. The policies and schemes which were on hold for over 30-40 years are being implemented,” he added.
Addressing the audience in Mumbai, PM Modi said, “I am in a city which never stops. I want to stand here and say that India is a country that never stops. Na rukenge, na dheema padenge, na thamenge, yeh India ne thaan liya hai. (India will not stop, not slow, not pause).”
Taking a dig at the promises of the former government which they failed to fulfill, PM Modi said, “Previous government believed in bringing in the ACT, but the ‘action’ was missing. They brought in Food Security Bill and won accolades for the same. But when we came to power in 2014, only 11 states were getting the benefit of this bill.”
PM Modi reiterated that his government is committed to providing education to children, employment to youth, medicines and healthcare to senior citizens and support to farmers.
Father of Hadiya, the girl who had converted to Islam to marry a Muslim boy, has joined the Bharatiya Janta Party. KM Ashokan, an ex-serviceman, joined the party on Monday and has extended support to party’s ongoing protest against the Supreme Court verdict in the Sabarimala case.
Ashokan who was a Communist Party follower said that the BJP is the only Party safeguarding the beliefs of Hindus.
“I was a Communist Party follower since my childhood. But of late the party is playing dirty vote-bank politics eyeing minority votes. I failed to understand if somebody talks about Hindus he turns communal in no time,” Ashokan said.
The ex-serviceman feels that the matters of religion should not be decided by the court. “Like many Hindus of Kerala, I am also torn between my belief and law. I personally believe customs and traditions should not come under the preview of courts. Let religious scholars and others decide on such issues,” he said.
Ashokan’s only daughter Akhila Ashokan had converted to Islam and had changed her name to Hadiya to marry a Muslim boy Shafin Jehan. Her father had filed a missing complaint accusing her roommates Faseena and Jaseena after she went missing from her hostel in Salem Tamil Nadu where she was pursuing her medical degree. When Hadiya appeared before the Kerala High Court after his father filed a Habeas Corpus petition, she confessed to having converted to Islam out of her own free will, “impressed” by her room-mates’ way of living, prayers and “good character”.
Hadiya’s case had stirred the alleged forced conversion debate in the country. The Acting Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW) Rekha Sharma had also said that forced conversions in the state of Kerala are real and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was like “an ostrich who is keeping his head buried in the sand.”
In a horrific incident, a principal of a secondary school in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh allegedly beat up students for not greeting him with “As-Salaam-Alaikum”. Reportedly, the principal has been now suspended and a case has been filed against him.
Chand Mian, the principal of the school had allegedly demanded that students of the school wish him with Islamic greeting “As-Salaam-Alaikum”, which means “Peace be upon you”. Reportedly, he would beat up students who instead wished him “good morning”.
Priyanshu, a class VI student of the Bilhari Secondary School in Tilhar, along with other locals met the Principal secretary and nodal officer of the district, Dimple Verma and complained against the school principal that the students were allegedly beaten up by the principal for failing to greet him with “As-Salaam-Alaikum”. The student reportedly showed injury marks on his neck to the visiting official.
The student was sent for medical examination and the preliminary inquiry report has been submitted to Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA), Rakesh Kumar. “Principal Chand Mian has prima facie been found guilty of the charges and suspended…further inquiry is on,” Kumar said.
The police have lodged an FIR against Chand Mian, who is also suspended from the school. Ashok Pal, SHO of Tilhar said that an FIR has been registered against Mian after of Priyanshu’s mother Kamla raised a complaint.
We had earlier reported a similar incident in Kerala, when the principal of a government school in Pallakad had issued a diktat, threatening the students with expulsion if they are found to be using religious symbols like kumkum on their foreheads or sacred threads on their wrists. Earlier, a government school run by an evangelical Christian affected an order on girl students not to wear flowers and bindi.
On Monday, breaching Taj Mahal’s security, a group of Congress workers in Agra resorted to hooliganism by raising slogans of ‘Chowkidar chor hai’ and held placards inside the historic site. The Congress workers also hailed the Congress President Rahul Gandhi inside the premises before being detained by the police.
Reportedly, the group of Congress workers claimed to be the students of the Allahabad University and the members of NSUI, the students’ body of the Congress. They reached the Taj Mahal at noon and started raising slogans, “Chowkidar chor hai, Rahul Gandhi zindabad, Sonia Gandhi zindabad”. They went on to display the flags of Congress party at the spot. However, the CISF security personnel rushed to spot immediately and took away those flags.
Meanwhile, a complaint has already been registered against these workers of the Congress party. Mohsin Khan, Circle officer of Taj Mahal said that the accused have been booked under section 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of IPC. He added that further action will be taken after checking the videos of the incident.
The CISF officials have detained some of these Congress party workers and are looking for others who have reportedly fled the spot after the incident. The workers were later released after they submitted a written apology for their conduct. In the apology letter, the Congress workers have claimed that their act was unintentional. The Congress workers said that they were just protesting against the Rafale “scam”.
Speaking to the media, Brij Bhushan, CISF Commandant said that an inquiry has been initiated to know how these banners reached inside the premises of the Taj Mahal. The security at the historic site will be further increased, he said.
The Congress party workers’ protest against Prime Minister Modi comes at a time when the Supreme Court has dismissed a petition seeking a court-monitored investigation into the Rafale deal. In a big setback to the Congress party, the Supreme Court had said they did not find any reason to interfere in the Rafale deal on the basis of perceptions of ‘individuals’.
US Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman has shown concern over USD 8 billion dollar loan that Pakistan has demanded from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Sherman calls Pakistan’s demand as a convenient way to repay the Chinese loan they have taken.
Pakistan is seeking a $8 billion loan from the IMF to save its economy which faces a crippling financial crisis. While speaking during a Congressional hearing with David Malpass, Under Secretary of Treasury for International Affairs, Sherman said, “I’ve shared with him the concern that any IMF loan to Pakistan cannot be just a convenient way to repay China. China has engaged in a debt trap. We’ve seen it in Sri Lanka. We’re seeing it in Africa. If the Chinese do that, then China has to learn that sometimes they just don’t get repaid”.
Referring to the issue relating to Dr Shakil Afridi who is serving a 33-year sentence for helping the CIA in tracing the Al-Qaeda Chief Osama Bin Laden who was gunned down in in Pakistan’s Abottabad, Sherman said, “The idea that Pakistan would turn to its own people and vilify a man who helped us destroy Osama bin Laden, does not speak well of the future of US-Pakistani relations. Our aid has been cut to Pakistan. I do not think it will be restored to major levels until the Dr (Shakil) Afridi issue is dealt with”.
While addressing the conference organised under the banner of South Asians Against Terrorism and for Human Rights (SAATH) and co-hosted by US-based columnist Mohammad Tagi and Haqqani, Sherman attacked Pakistan, which got $ 43 billion financial aid post-independence, for blocking US websites like Voice of America inside the country.
Sherman, who is on the financial security committee, told that he had a meeting with the Trump administration last week where he raised the issue of IMF loan to Pakistan. He said that the US almost has a veto in the IMF and even the US aid to Pakistan which has been cut by the Trump administration is unlikely to be restored soon.
He also said that the US should instruct American Banks and the American bond rating agencies that “if there is a default on a debt and the debt is part of a Chinese debt trap, it just doesn’t count. And then turn to the Chinese and say that it is not going to be able to use western financial institutions to penalise countries who fall into their debt traps”.
“So if China wants to make these loans, fine. If they don’t get repaid, that’s their business and countries will be then free to engage in other financial transactions with countries hopefully that do not engage in such traps,” he added.
Sherman is working on a legislation which he calls “Chinese Debt Trap Relief Act” that would encourage countries not to repay bad loans.
A shocking report of Muslim Uighur wives of Pakistani men being held up in ‘education centres’ in China has surfaced. As per the Pakistani men whose wives have disappeared, the Chinese authorities have told them that they are taken to ‘education centres’ but they are not education centres but concentration camps.
According to one Pakistani Businessman, Atta, the Chinese call it “school”. However, the women are not allowed to leave the premises. He has termed it ‘prisons’. “I’m extremely worried now. It has been eight or nine months since I have seen my wife,” Atta said. According to him, there are about 200 Pakistani men whose spouses have disappeared from the Xinjiang province of China.
Incriminating reports blaming Beijing of interning members of its Muslim population – by “re-educating” them away from their faith have emerged. It is believed that China has resorted to this measure as a response to riots and violent attacks that the government has endured recently at the hands of Muslim separatists in the Xinjiang province.
As pointed out earlier, Muslims in these camps are “re-educated”, a process which can take anywhere between a few months to a year. Here they are compelled to give up Islam, pan their own Islamic traditions and extend their loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping. Muslims are made to eat pork, drink alcohol which is taboo in Islam.
In the last month, Mihrigul Tursun, a member of the Uighur Muslim community in China, while speaking to the press had described in harrowing detail her torture at the hands of the communist government in the concentration camps in China. She claimed that she was traumatised to the extent that she was pleading for death to her tormentors. However, the Muslim world including Pakistan has expressed little concern for their fellow Muslim victims.
Pakistanis are often at the forefront in taking up the cudgel for Islam and Muslims whenever Muslim grievances are raised in any part of the world. From the West Bank conflict between Israel and Palestine to the more recent ones caused by cartoons of Prophet Muhammad, Pakistan has been vehement in denouncing the injustices meted out to the Muslims world over. However, they have turned a blind eye to this tyranny by China.
The abject social and economic situation in Pakistan has possibly forced it to maintain a conspicuous silence on the Chinese action. China is the major financial partner for cash-strapped Pakistan. With international organisations such as the World Bank and IMF hardening its noose, Pakistan cannot afford to antagonise the dragon it considers as its an all-weather ally. China is emerging as a global power and has invested heavily in many Muslim countries including Pakistan. This has perhaps kept Pakistan and other Muslim countries silent about the wretched plight of Uighur Muslims in China.
Even the left-leaning media outlets, who champion the cause of Human rights violations, have displayed astounding callousness to the predicament of the Uighur Muslims. The media outlets and Human rights commissions which take no time in raising perceived Human rights violations in other places have maintained a steady silence on the gross inequities meted out to the Uighur Muslims in China.
China, on the other hand, has got emboldened and had defended its policies regarding Uighur Muslims as aimed towards maintaining “peace and stability” in the region. China has claimed that it is sometimes necessary to repress a restive region in order to allow peace to prevail.
A group of four transgender devotees on their way to Lord Ayyappa temple were allegedly stopped at Erumeli, about 50 km from Sabarimala, by the Kerala police, who discouraged them to proceed further.
Ananya, one of the four transgender devotees, told news agency IANS, “We began our pilgrimage on Saturday from Ernakulam and the special branch wing of the police was witness to the prayers and all the ritual functions that we undertook. But when we reached Erumeli, the cops, even women officials, were quite rude.”
Disgruntled with the Kerala police, she further added that “the ban on menstruating women is not applicable to us. We had explained that to the police, they were not ready to allow us to the temple.”
Ananya, Trupti, Renjumol and Avanthika, the four devotees were dressed in black sarees, which is the traditional attire for the pilgrimage, and were carrying the customary ‘irumudikettu‘ (sacred offerings to God).
The four, however, alleged that the police ridiculed them and even asked them to change their attire and get into men’s clothing if they wanted permission to enter the shrine.
“Initially, we refused but after some time, we decided to change our clothes. However, the police still asked us to return,” Ananya added.
These four devotees have now decided to approach the High Court against the Kerela police’s misbehaviour. The allegations have been, however, dismissed by the Kottayam’s Superintendent of Police, S Harishankar, who said that “everyone has the right to offer prayers at Sabarimala. We need to get some more legal clarity in this regard. So, we will approach the high court-appointed panel and seek their advice,” he told reporters.
Sabarimala has been witnessing protests ever since the Supreme Court allowed women of all ages to enter the temple ignoring the shrine’s age-old tradition barring women of menstruating age to enter the holy place.
However, since the controversial order, no woman of menstrual age has been able to enter the hilltop shrine because of massive protests by the devotees, who believe that changing the tradition would be an insult to Lord Ayyappa.
The legend has it that the temple deity Ayyappa followed celibacy all through his life.
More than a dozen women tried but failed to make it to the Sabarimala temple, even with heavy police protection. Thousands have been arrested during protests across the state.
The Supreme Court will begin hearing petitions seeking review of its order from January 22.
Ever since Congress president Rahul Gandhi decided to attack Modi government on the Rafale deal, he has been accusing prime minister Modi of snatching the contract from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and gifted it to Anil Ambani. He has been claiming that HAL is fully capable of making the Rafale plane, but the deal has gone to Reliance, despite the fact that all 36 Rafale jets are coming from France and not of them will be made by Reliance or any other Indian company. Rahul Gandhi had even gone to the headquarters of HAL and held a meeting with a few former and current employees of the company. He had claimed that the Rafale deal rightfully belongs to HAL and he will protect the future of the company.
But recently it had emerged that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the parliament had severely criticised Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Aeronautical Developmental Agency (ADA) over its failure in timely delivery of defence equipment to defence forces. The PAC is headed by Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge. The report is based on CAG’s report on “Design, Development, Manufacture and Induction of Light Combat Aircraft”, or the Tejas fighter jet that HAL is making. Now we have accessed a copy of that report by PAC, here are some of the important points made in the report.
The report notes that the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) project was sanctioned in 1983, and it had been running into delays for a long time. The delays in the project were highlighted in the CAG report in 1988 and after that in another CAG report in 1999. The ADA had started developing two prototypes in 1995, even before development and testing of two Technology Demonstrator aircraft as per the original plan. Due to this, several technologies could not be integrated into the LCA, as many of such technologies were still in development. The decision to advance the development of the first 2 prototypes had a cascading effect on later prototypes, the report notes, clearly hinting at the mismanagement of the project. This had led to delays in the completion of each stage of the project.
HAL was to manufacture and supply eight aircraft between 2006 and 2008. Against this, HAL supplied seven aircraft during April 2007-March 2013 with a delay ranging from 4 to 51 months, the report notes.
Despite the long delays, the Initial Operational Configuration aircraft that was completed in 2013 did not meet the specific requirements of the Air Force. The aircraft had increased weight, reduced internal fuel capacity, non-compliance of all-weather operations, nonachievement of single point defueling, fuel system protection, pilot protection, etc., as opposed to the prescribed requirement of IAF. Due to these shortcomings, the ADA had to obtain 53 temporary concessions/permanent waivers. 20 of them were permanent waivers granted by the air force, while the rest 33 were time-bound temporary concessions, which had adversely affected the combat potential of LCAs being developed during that period.
Delays in FSED Phase-IDelays in FSED Phase-II
Due to delay in development of the LCA, several weapons and systems had become obsolete/out of stock/operationally irrelevant, and to retain an operational edge, newer weapons had to be inducted in the project. This new requirement had further delayed the project, the PAC report says.
The LCA was supposed to be powered by an indigenously developed Kaveri engine, but due to the inability to achieve the required power from the engine, the Tejas uses GE engines. Like the LCA, the Kaveri project also has faced long time and cost overruns. The jet engine is being developed by the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), a lab under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The delay in development of the engine was also highlighted by CAG in its 2010-11 report.
HAL was to provide the test and prototype aircraft for test flights in 2006 as per the MoU signed with IAF. But due to several deficiencies, the planes were included for flight testing activities in November 2010. The report says that HAL was producing four aircraft per year as against the required eight aircraft per year. According to the original plan, the LCA was to be inducted into IAF by 1994 to replace the Mig-21 planes, but that has not happened even after a delay of more than 3 decades.
Due to non-availability of LCA, the IAF had to resort to other measures to arrest the depletion of squadron level due to phasing out of Mig-21 fighters. It had spent ₹2,135 crore on upgrading 125 MiG BIS aircraft, ₹3,841.87 crore on upgrading 62 MiG-29 aircraft, ₹3,113.02 crore on 61 Jaguars and ₹ 10,947 crore was spent on the ongoing upgrading of Mirage 2000 aircraft. This has meant that due to delay in induction on LCA Tejas, IAF had to up-grade other aircraft at a cost of ₹20,037 crore. Besides that, the phasing out of MiG-21 had to be delayed.
The report notes that the Full Scale Engineering Development (FSED) Phase-I was closed in 2004 after a delay of six years, that too without completion of all the activities, which were carried forward to FSED Phase-II. PAC notes that while LCA programme is being monitored by multiple agencies/bodies like General Body, Governing Body, involving the representation of Minister of Defence, Ministry of Finance, ADA, HAL, and Empowered Committee chaired by Chief of Air Staff, there was lack of coordination at various levels and monitoring of the program was ineffective. “The Committee are of the view that casual approach of the monitoring agencies in enforcing the timelines led to inexplicable delays of more than 30 years on an ambitious Defence project”, the PAC report states. It also says, “The Committee are disappointed to note that even after almost three decades, the ADA has not been able to develop the indigenous aircraft as per requirements of IAF in terms of combat potential and serviceability and opine that non fulfilling of requirements of the users has rendered investment of both time and money in the project, so far, infructuous”.
Another defect in the project pointed out in the PAC report is the low level of indigenisation, while the indigenous content of LCA was estimated to be 70 percent, actually it was only 35 percent in 2015.
Commenting on the failure to develop the Kaveri engine, the report says that “GTRE has failed miserably in its attempt to develop an indigenous engine”. The PAC says that since GTRE has been entrusted with the development of a strategic equipment, it may be upgraded from merely a lab under DRDO to a fully autonomous organisation empowered to take decisions on its own and capable of attracting and recruiting best talents in the field. Similarly, a review of the functioning and achievements of DRDO and HAL may also be carried out to suggest ways to improve their working, the parliamentary committee recommends.
The report further states that due to huge delays in development and induction of LCA, forming of LCA squadrons could not materialize, and IAF had to up-grade other fighter planes aircraft at a cost of ₹20,037 crore, and IAF is currently operating with 35 squadrons as against sanctioned 42 squadrons. Moreover, the squadrons of MiG-21 and MiG-27 will retire over the next ten years. “The Committee are disappointed to note that the failure of HAL/ADA and Ministry of Defence (MoD) to provide the required number of aircraft has adversely affected the combat potential of the IAF resulting in security threat to the country”, the report by PAC comments. Severely criticising the executors of the project, the report says that the HAL, ADA and its work stations are miserably failing in its R&D to have the much-needed technology in the aviation sector.
The Committee are aghast to note that, as on 31 July, 2018, IAF has only got 9 out of the 200 fighter and 20 trainer aircraft that it had ordered for. Moreover, the LCA aircraft that have been delivered to IAF as not combat ready. The ADA/HAL have also not been able to provide IAF with even a single production standard trainer aircraft till date. Further, since HAL could not augment its capacity in line with the demand of the IAF, the report states.
All these scratching comments on HAL and ADA have been signed off by Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of Congress party in Lok Sabha.
This is not the first time HAL has come under criticism for delay in projects, and the LCA is not the only project they are delaying. Almost all projects undertaken by the company are delayed. The production of Sukhoi Su-30MKI aircraft by the company is also getting delayed. Moreover, Sukhois made by HAL cost more than the same planes imported from the original maker in Russia. Other HAL projects like The Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT), Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) and Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) are also running behind schedule by several years.
While Rahul Gandhi talks about Rafale being made by HAL, the fact is that the original bid to buy 126 Rafale planes during the UPA government was cancelled due to HAL. Under the MMRCA bid for 126 aircraft, 18 planes were to be bought from Dassault and rest 108 were to be made by HAL under licensed production. But the deal didn’t go through as HAL wanted much more time to make the planes. While Dassault provisioned for 3 crore man-hours for production of the aircraft in India, HAL’s estimate was nearly 3 times higher, increasing the cost manifold. This was not acceptable to Dassault, and due to this disagreement, the deal had to be cancelled. More importantly, Dassault was not ready to take the responsibility of quality control of production for the 108 Rafale planes to be made by HAL.
The ability and efficiency of HAL are in question for a long time, given the inordinate delays in projects undertaken by the public sector company, which have been once again confirmed by the PAC report. But this will not dissuade Rahul Gandhi from continuing his ‘Modi snatched Rafale deal from HAL and gave to Ambani’ rhetoric, that is for sure.
The Congress party has been caught in a major embarrassment after the Delhi High Court convicted one of its senior leaders, Sajjan Kumar for his role in the 1984-anti-Sikh riots. The Delhi High Court while delivering the judgement had issued a damning statement saying the accused had enjoyed ‘political patronage’ and ‘escaped trial’.
As the Congress party was pushed on to the back foot, senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the issue should not be politicised and the judgement should not be linked to the political atmosphere prevailing in the country. Former Human Resources Minister Kapil Sibal attempted to distance convicted Sajjan Kumar from the Congress party and maintained that he does not hold office or fought on a Congress party ticket. He also attacked BJP for politicising the case.
The Congress leaders displayed their eagerness to distance the convict Sajjan Kumar from the party to minimise the damage he has already caused and to avoid furthermore discomfort. Nevertheless, the Congress party had mainstreamed the criminal Sajjan Kumar all along despite several victims had accused him of his involvement in the anti-Sikh pogrom.
Sajjan Kumar, who has now been convicted of murdering five Sikhs in the Delhi Cantonment area during the massacre of 1984, has stayed very close to the Congress party despite Congress party projecting otherwise. In 2004, the Congress party had brought Sajjan Kumar into the mainstream by allowing him to contest and win from Outer Delhi constituency.
Later in 2014, Sajjan Kumar was made the member of party’s campaign committee for parliamentary elections in Delhi. His services were sought for bringing crowds for an election rally of the current Congress party president Rahul Gandhi during the 2014 general elections.
Congress party had also utilised the services of Sajjan Kumar to organise different rallies and election campaigns in various assembly elections. Sajjan Kumar, who was twice MP from Outer Delhi constituency had participated in an election rally ahead of the Bawana Assembly constituency by-election in 2013 and had addressed several meetings.
Recently, Sajjan Kumar was seen leading the party’s Bharat Bandh protests over high fuel prices near Pusa Road, Delhi. He had to face the wrath of the people for trying to intimidate a journalist after he confronted Sajjan Kumar for his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre.
Once again on September 30 2018, Sajjan Kumar had displayed his affiliation with the Congress party by participating in a rally to protest against “illegal sealing” of industries, unemployment and price rise to highlight the failures of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi and the BJP at the centre.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer HS Phoolka had alleged in the past that the Centre and police have protected Sajjan Kumar since 1984. He had said that there was ample evidence to show how the police and the government have been shielding him from the beginning. Reportedly, the police did not register cases in 1984 wherever the victims named political leaders.
In 2012, during the UPA government, the special public prosecutor had argued that the CBI investigation showed that the police had removed the statement of a main witness from the record and had further placed on record fabricated statements which were not made by the witness.
Meanwhile, the conviction of Sajjan Kumar for his role in the Sikh massacre has finally brought some semblance of justice to the families of victims and the Sikh community while a long road lays ahead in bringing other culprits to book. Over 400 cases related to the 1984 Sikh genocide still remains pending in Indian courts.
Interestingly, Sajjan Kumar has been convicted for his role in the 1984 Sikh Massacre on the same day that another Congress veteran accused of participating in the massacre, Kamal Nath took oath as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
