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Journalism of Courage
The Election Commission today deferred the hearing on the controversial anti-Muslim CD after the saffron party sought more time to reply to the Congress petition that Uttar Pradesh BJP leaders present at the CD8217;s release be barred from the ongoing Assembly elections. It also sought a CBI investigation. The hearing will now take place on Wednesday.
In another development, BJP leaders Arun Jaitley, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi submitted a letter to Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami with the request that Election Commissioner Navin Chawla be asked to stay away from the hearing as there was a Supreme Court petition pending against him, which had been filed by the BJP.
The sources also indicated that 8220;some decision8221; on the matter would be taken 8220;at the earliest8221; as the issue relates to the ongoing election process in Uttar Pradesh.
With a formidable political line-up 8212; the Congress in tandem with the CPIM as well as the BSP, SP and Jan Morcha 8212; pitted against it, the BJP sent a battery of lawyers including Jaitley and Prasad, along with Naqvi, to argue the petition filed against the party.
Union Minister Kapil Sibal, who was lending his legal might to present the Congress view at the EC hearing today, told The Indian Express that the BJP had sought more time as 8220;our petition is far more comprehensive than the others. We have cited other instances to prove that this is no isolated incident. BJP had released similar CDs in 2005 and 2006.8221;
Despite being cornered, the BJP put up a brave front. 8220;We have already replied to the BSP and Jan Morcha petitions. We will reply to the Congress8217; as well by Wednesday. There is competition among the SP, Congress, BSP and Jan Morcha to prove who is more secular, ta ki certificate miss na ho jai,8221; Naqvi countered.
He also accused the BJP8217;s political opponents of creating an atmosphere of uncertainty at a crucial time. On the Congress demand that the case be handed over to the CBI as it is not an 8220;isolated incident8221;, Naqvi said, 8220;We are not afraid of anything, we are ready to face a witch hunt. It is an election issue which is being unnecessarily being made political.8221;
In its replies to the BSP and Jan Morcha8217;s petitions, the BJP argued that the Election Commission had no power to cancel its registration as demanded by its opponents. 8220;It is extremely dangerous for a democracy if the Election Commission were to assume the law to decide which party is to be allowed to contest elections and which party is to be prevented,8221; the BJP contended, adding that the Representation of People8217;s Act had no provision for cancellation or withdrawal of registration of political parties.
Unlike V P Singh and Mayawati, Congress did not ask for the immediate derecognition of the BJP and freezing of its symbol. 8220;Derecognition is a lengthy process which can take place only after a thorough investigation by the CBI as the producer of the CD is claiming he is being threatened and the scriptwriters saying the footage was provided by the BJP,8221; Sibal said, emphasising that the EC would have to take a decision any which way as the Supreme Court had also taken note of the similar anti-Christian CD that was released in Gujarat in 2005. This, however, is not the first time that the BJP is facing a threat of de-recognition. In early 1990s, Arjun Singh had filed a similar petition alleging that L.K. Advani8217;s pre-election rath yatra was meant to fan communal divide.
