Rahul exit from Parliament to scrapping of Karnataka Muslim quota to Bilkis Bano case

SALAR

In its editorial on March 27, the Bengaluru-based Salar writes that there will be questions on the fast-paced manner in which Rahul Gandhi was disqualified as the Lok Sabha MP following his conviction and sentencing to two years in jail by a Surat court in a defamation case over his Modi surname remark made in a speech at a Karnataka rally ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Its immediate political implications, the daily says, are two-fold. Firstly, the Congress has been trying to galvanise public opinion over Rahul’s disqualification by flagging the alleged threat to democracy under the Modi regime. And, secondly, the Opposition parties have closed their ranks and risen in Rahul’s defence while vowing to take on the BJP dispensation together in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The daily notes that the Congress has been holding nationwide protests on the issue, stating that addressing a satyagraha event outside Rajghat, Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial, the party’s president Mallikarjun Kharge acknowledged the Opposition parties’ support for Rahul in their collective efforts to “save democracy”.

The editorial points out that Rahul told a press conference he will keep questioning the Modi government over the Adani affair. “This is also significant that unlike its spokesperson Pawan Kheda case, in which the Congress had rushed to the Supreme Court to challenge his arrest, the party is not showing the same urgency in moving the courts over Rahul’s disqualification. This indicates that the party is trying to extract political mileage by charging that Rahul was punished as he dared to put the government in the dock in the Adani case.”

The editorial says the key question is, would this narrative gain traction among the people and be a part of their discourse. “Will the Congress succeed in communicating its message to the people through its countrywide stirs, and will the people buy its narrative. Only time will answer this question. The Congress must not forget that Rahul had tried to rake up the alleged Rafale deal scam as its key issue in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, but its campaign could not cut any ice with the people.”

The daily says that besides its agitational programmes, the Congress should also streamline its units at various levels and make an outreach to the people on the ground as part of its campaign to “expose the wrong policies of the Modi government on various fronts”.

SIASAT

Referring to the Basavaraj Bommai-led Karnataka government’s decision to scrap 4% quota granted to the Muslim community under the “2B” backward class category and place them under the general Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category, the Hyderabad-based Siasat writes that “this marks yet another divisive move by the BJP government to communalise the atmosphere in Karnataka just ahead of the Assembly polls in a bid to reap electoral dividends”. This is an established fact that the state of Muslims in the country is abysmal as they lag behind all communities on multiple development parameters, it says. “Pulling the Muslim community out of its political, social, economic and educational backwardness will require collective efforts and struggle. Even at the government level, it is imperative to extend the community all assistance to ensure a level-playing field for them. However, rather than taking affirmative action to ensure their safeguards by strengthening the legal regime, governments now appear to be targeting whatever little opportunities granted to them.”

The editorial says the Bommai government has “snatched” 4% reservation from Muslims and divided it between two dominant communities of the state — Vokkaligas, who will now get 6% quota, and Lingayats, who will now have 7% reservation. The government has revoked the decades-old recognition of Muslims as a backward class in Karnataka by placing them in the EWS category alongside Brahmins, Jains, Vaishyas, and other non-backwards, where they would all compete for a 10% quota. “This is how the BJP government has tried to further cramp the possibilities of rights and safeguards for Muslims,” the edit charges, adding that its decision to end backward class quota for Muslims has been taken with “an eye on the Assembly polls”. “The BJP government is wary of facing people over its performance on real public issues, so it has resorted to these moves to polarise the polls to its advantage.”

The daily also says, ”Karnataka is among the states where the communal atmosphere has been vitiated… The Muslim community in the state should display foresight and sagacity in the time of elections while steering clear of those bent on exploiting sentiments.”

URDU TIMES

Commenting on the Supreme Court’s move to set up a new bench to hear petitions challenging the remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape and murder case, the Mumbai-based Urdu Times, in its editorial on March 23, writes that “the apex court’s move has kept the hope for justice alive in this case, even though it may be a faint hope”.

Bilkis was gangraped and her three-year-old daughter was among 14 people killed by a mob on March 3, 2002, in the Limkheda taluka of Dahod district in Gujarat during the 2002 riots. Bilkis was pregnant at the time. The 11 convicts sentenced to life imprisonment were released for “good behaviour” by the Gujarat government on August 15 last year.

The daily points out that the premature release of the 11 convicts sparked outrage across the country, with protests held against this travesty of justice. “There have also been demands that the convicts be sent back to the prison before a hearing in their remission case gets underway. These men are from the same village Bilkis hails from, and there are apprehensions that they may influence the legal proceedings,” it says, stating that the convicts had been out of jail on frequent parole and furlough during their prison tenure and that one of them was even accused of assaulting a woman with the intention of outraging her modesty when he was on parole.

The editorial notes that Bilkis had spent half her life seeking justice, stating that the courts are mandated to uphold the rule of law and ensure justice. It says that the early release of the convicts in the heinous crime not only convulsed Bilkis but also the society at large, adding that this case will be tracked globally.