STATEMENT
Atal Behari Vajpayee's aggressive and intemperate speech at a public meeting
in Panaji, coming after the poetic anguish of Naini Tal and the pretended
introspection at the Shah Alam camp in Ahmedabad, confirms a dangerous
streak of duplicity. The Panaji speech in which the Prime Minister of a
parliamentary democracy stigmatised an entire community for their supposed
intolerance of other faiths, represents a new low in the political discourse
in India. This is without doubt the first occasion when a Prime Minister has
indulged in such flagrantly communal propaganda. Vajpayee has compounded
this gross misdemeanour with tendentious generalisations, effectively saying
that terrorism is intrinsic to Islam.
With what face will I go abroad and face the international community, asked
the Prime Minister in Ahmedabad early this month. With what face indeed we
ask, can he face his own people. As the head of government, who holds the
ultimate responsibility for the security of the nation's citizens, Vajpayee
has consistently refused to exercise the power that is vested in him by law
to restore peace in Gujarat. And now at Panaji, he has categorically held
the victims of sectarian violence responsible for their own suffering.
In fostering a climate of lawlessness and terror, the Prime Minister is
undermining public confidence in the rule of law. His unconditional
endorsement of the carnage in Gujarat is a blatant instigation of the mob,
which could contribute to an upward spiral in the cycle of violence.
We condemn the BJP National Executive, which went through a charade of
enforcing accountability on the delinquent chief minister of Gujarat, only
to end up applauding him and advising him to call fresh elections. It is
important to read this tactic in the light of the Prime Minister's
statement, made during the recent Uttar Pradesh assembly election campaign,
that the BJP could win even without the votes of the Muslim community.
We urge the Election Commission, which is the appropriate constitutional
authority, to intervene and block this sinister move. A party that has
contributed to the climate of bigotry cannot be allowed to seek an electoral
endorsement of the politics of terror in the wake of a communal carnage for
which it bears principal responsibility, especially when a large section of
the population of Gujarat has been rendered homeless and is living in fear
of their lives.
We call upon the BJP's partners in the ruling coalition at the centre to
reappraise the consequences of their dangerous cohabitation.
ABHIJIT SEN
ACHIN VANAIK
ANURADHA CHENOY
ANURADHA KAPUR
ARJUN DEV
ARPANA CAUR
BHISHAM SAHNI
BISMOY PATI
CHANCHAL CHAUHAN
CP CHANDRASEKHAR
DN JHA
DUNU ROY
GEETA KAPUR
GEETHA HARIHARAN
IMRANA QADEER
INDIRA CHANDRASEKHAR
JAVED ANAND
JAYATI GHOSH
JHABRI MAL PAREKH
KAMAL MITRA CHENOY
KAMNA PRASAD
KM SHRIMALI
KN PANIKKAR
KUMI CHANDRA
KUMKUM SANGARI
LIMA KANUNGO
MADANGOPAL SINGH
MADHU PRASAD
MK RAINA
MOHAN RAO
MUKUL MANGLIK
MUSHIRUL HASAN
PARTHIV SHAH
PK DATTA
PRABHAT PATNAIK
PRAFUL BIDWAI
RAJAN PRASAD
RAJENDRA YADAV
RAJINDER ARORA
RAM RAHMAN
RATI BARTHOLOMEW
ROMI KHOSLA
RS SHARMA
SHABNAM HASHMI
SHUBHA MUDGAL
SOHAIL HASHMI
SUMIT SARKAR
SURAJ BHAN
TANIKA SARKAR
TEESTA SETALWAD
UMA CHAKRAVARTHY
UTSA PATNAIK
VIVAN SUNDARAM
VM JHA
ZOYA HASAN
SAHMAT
8, Vithalbhai Patel House, Rafi Marg, New Delhi-110001
Tel- 3711276/ 3351424
e-mail:
sahmat@vsnl.com 
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