After weeks of shouting against Shibu Soren and Md Taslimuddin, the BJP has landed on the wrong side of the ‘tainted ministers’ issue.
The party has convened a special meeting of its parliamentary board on Monday to decide the fate of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti who has been declared a proclaimed offender by a Hubli court in a criminal case dating back to the Idgah Maidan agitation 10 years ago.
The case against Bharti is a complex one because the S.M. Krishna government had sought to withdraw it. It even filed a revision petition in the Hubli sessions court against a magistrate’s order refusing consent to withdraw. But the new Congress-JD(S) government has now withdrawn the revision petition and the case has been posted for Monday.
BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said: ‘‘She (Bharti) has already conveyed to the party her willingness to accept any decision the party takes in this regard.’’ The party president, Venkaiah Naidu, had convened the parliamentary board meeting ‘‘to discuss all aspects of the case related to the hoisting of the national flag at the Idgah grounds in Hubli,’’ Swaraj stressed.
Following the agitation to raise the national flag at the disputed Idgah grounds on 14-16 August, 1994, criminal cases were registered against Uma Bharti and 21 others for charges of attempting to commit murder, setting fire, assaulting public servants, rioting with deadly weapons etc, which are non-bailable offences.
The JMFC court in Hubli had served several summons and non-bailable arrest warrants against but none of them was served on her. The JMFC court even declared her a ‘‘proclaimed offender.’’
The Idgah Issue
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• The ownership of Idgah maidan is in dispute with Anjuman-e-Islam and Wakf Board laying claim to it and Hindu organisations saying it is owned by the Hubli-Dharwad Corporation. The ownership case is now pending in the Supreme Court with the lower courts having decided that it is public property. The Rashtradhaja Gourava Rakshana Samiti had vowed to hoist the flag on the Independence Day of 1994 under the leadership of Uma Bharti. The flag-hoisting and an attempt by Uma Bharti to address a public meeting sparked off violence resulting in lathi-charge and police firing in which six persons were killed. The entire city was placed under curfew for the next two days. The police chargesheeted 22 persons, including Uma Bharti, in 10 different cases. |
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The State Government sought withdrawal of all 10 cases in 2002 but the JMFC refused consent to withdraw the case of attempt to murder and arson as it had no jurisdiction to decide on it.
Two months ago, the government filed a revision petition in the District and Sessions Court seeking withdrawal of the case. But this week, Public Prosecutor Barigali submitted that the government would withdraw the petition in the ‘‘best interest’’ of the public.
One view in the BJP is that Bharti’s resignation will only be seen as a sign of the BJP’s “weakness” and will embolden the ruling UPA to continue the ideological confrontation with the Sangh parivar. Besides, there is no credible alternative to the mercurial chief minister—Kailash Joshi and Laxminarayan Pandey are ‘‘spent forces’’ and Vikram Verma too lacklustre. So, any move to remove her would only worsen the situation in one of the party’s few bastions left.
But most important, Uma’s resignation will set a precedent as the Idgah case too is considered a ‘‘political’’ case from the Parivar perspective.
The other view is that Bharti ought to step down because it will help the BJP in at least two different ways:
• It would help the BJP regain the “moral high ground” .
• The case involves an agitation to hoist the flag and would only reinforce the BJP’s “nationalist” character.