Task force to demand implementation of Srikrishna report

He came down heavily on Chief Minister Manhor Joshi for brandishing the report as biased and anti-Hindu.

“It is unfortunate to cast aspersions on a sitting judge who is known for his integrity and impartiality,” he said, adding that Justice Srikrishna had given “lavish opportunities to all the sides to put forth their case”.

“The inquiry was conducted in open court and the evidence was already a matter of public knowledge. The report is an honest document as the evidence and judgment is in consonance with each other,” Suresh said.

“It is an unfortunate assumption that the report isnot binding on the state government. When the police investigates a criminal case, they go by FIRs or other evidence place before them. In this case, the report is strong evidence and the government should act upon it and conduct the trial of the persons indicted by it,” the former judge added. “How can people say that Justice Srikrishna has not given merit to the bomb blasts cases when a special court is investigating the matter,” he asked.

Samajwadi Party leader and chairperson of the Task Force, Tushar Gandhi, said the chief minister is creating a situation to protect certain people “whom he thinks are above law”.

“The CM’s speech and his subsequent antics are cocking a snook at our legal system,” Gandhi said. “Even 50 years after the Holocaust, the Jews are hunting for the Nazis to bring them under law. If that’s so, why should the culprits responsible for an organised crime just five years back go unpunished,” he asked.

Other panelists described the government’s Action Taken Report(ATR) as a malafide document. The Action Taken Report has got to be quashed and set aside. This has to be done by a judicial process or by public participation, they said.

“The public should not allow the commission’s labour to go futile. The government’s attitude is a shameful expression of an inefficient administration and leadership,” said advocate Majeed Memon.

Meanwhile, the Congress has decided to stage a dharna before the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament tomorrow to protest against the rejection of the Srikrishna Commission’s report by the Maharashtra government.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the five-member committee appointed by party president Sonia Gandhi to go into the report and suggest steps to be initiated by the party to punish those indicted in the report.

Later, the party may also organise demonstrations at district level all over the country, particularly in Mumbai. All the party MPs present in the capital are expected to participate in the demonstration.

AICCgeneral secretaries were also present in the meeting attended by the five members – Arjun Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Pranab Mukherjee, Kapil Sibal and Murali Bhandare – of the study committee.