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Indian
Parliament Gears for Stormy Scenes over Gujarat Killings
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Soldiers
patrolling Gujarat riot areas
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By Md. Zeyaul Haque, IOL South
Asia Bureau
NEW
DELHI, July 24 (IslamOnline) - The next couple of days are going to be
stormy in India’s parliament as government and opposition lock horns
on proposed assembly elections in the western state of Gujarat which
witnessed a massive anti-Muslim pogrom in March-April.
In
both houses of parliament the opposition, united for the first time in
a few years, demanded suspension of question hour Monday, July 22, and
discussion of the situation arising out of the dissolution of Gujarat
assembly and Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s request for election.
As
the speaker of lower house (Lok Sabha) and the Chairperson of the
upper house (Rajya Sabha) disallowed the question hour suspension
move, opposition MPs staged a protest demonstration in the “wells”
of the two houses. The determined opposition was asking for discussion
of the dangerous situation in Gujarat, while NDA, the ruling
coalition, was out to forestall the move.
The
opposition also demanded President’s rule in the state and
postponement of the elections saying the communal situation was far
from normal. They said Modi, who was widely seen to be behind the
anti-Muslim pogrom, was trying to cash in on the communal and social
polarization in the state.
Modi
and his party, the BJP, are under the impression that such
polarization would get them the majority Hindu vote.
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Stormy
days ahead for the Indian Parliament
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The
national media, leftists, liberals, important NGOs and a sizeable
section of Indian society have expressed concern over Modi
government’s move to conduct elections in Gujarat at a time when
mutual, distrust between the communities still continues.
The
opposition also met the chief election commissioner Monday, July 22,
to request him not to conduct elections in the unstable situation. The
opposition has been demanding president’s rule in Gujarat, saying
the ruling BJP had lost its credibility.
Ironically,
BJP, which is heading the ruling coalition at Center, has been toying
with the idea of imposing President’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir
before state legislative assembly elections, while it is opposed to
President’s rule in Gujarat, where its men rule.
The
opposition feels BJP is using dual standards for sectarian reasons as
more people have been killed in Gujarat in two months than were killed
in J&K in several years.
On
Monday, July 22, Parliament proceedings lurched through the day amid
adjournments. Finally, the two houses of Parliament were adjourned for
the day as the government was unwilling to allow a thorough discussion
on the Gujarat situation.
The
opposition in Parliament has decided to keep strongly protesting the
Gujarat government’s attempt to hold elections with tacit support of
the Center. The next few days are going to be stormy in India’s
Parliament.
Some
members of Parliament demanded that Modi should be summoned to
Parliament and reprimanded for casting a slur on its dignity with his
rude remark.
Members of
parliament were incensed over a reported statement of Modi in which he
had said an earlier debate on Gujarat had “tarnished” his
(Modi’s) image.
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