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Journalism of Courage
BJP leader Uma Bharati will spend at least another two days in custody with the Hubli court today posting its ruling on the application for withdrawal of cases against her to September 6.
In any case, Bharati’s judicial remand ends on September 7, after which she will be produced in court again. But, that, is only half the story.
The other half is the drama played out in the Judicial Magistrate First Class (II) court today where the state government’s counsel, assistant public prosecutor N. Nagendrappa, submitted that withdrawal of a pending criminal case against Bharati would send a wrong signal to victims of the 1994 Hubli riots, sparked off by the Idgah Maidan controversy. He further said Bharati and the 21 other accused have the ‘‘tendency to indulge in activities that are against law’’ and could do so on release.
The APP’s statement seemed to be at variance with the proceedings at the Bangalore High Court at the beginning of the week where the state government stood by a 2002 Cabinet decision to withdraw all cases against Uma. Uma’s counsel, Dorairaju, who said Nagendrappa had defied the directions of the HC. He also alleged the police had ‘‘altered’’ the FIR to include the charge of attempt to murder. Since the government felt that it could not continue the prosecution, it had opted to withdraw the cases, he added.
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Sinha courts arrest
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BANGALORE: BJP leader and former external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha on Saturday courted arrest along with 1,000-odd workers on the fourth day of the party’s satyagraha to press for withdrawal of cases against Bharati. Sinha charged that Congress chief Sonia Gandhi was the ‘‘only person’’ responsible for the delay in resolution of the case. Atal sniffs conspiracy |
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