GANDHINAGAR, JAN 6: The two-member special Bench constituted by the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) arrived here late his evening and taken a serious view of the recent attack on the Christians and their educational institutions in the State.The special Bench comprising the Commission's vice-chairman, Bava Singh, and James Messey will first meet the Chief Secretary, the DGP and other senior government officials at the Gandhinagar Circuit House at 11 a.m., tomorrow and later in the day they will receive representations from leaders of different communities regarding the violent incidents.
Minister of State for Home Haren Pandya told mediapersons today that the Chief Secretary, the DGP and other officials would apprise the Bench members of the circumstances that led to the violent incidents in the Dangs and elsewhere in South Gujarat and the measures being taken by the government in the aftermath of the incidents.
Responding to a query, Pandya said though the NCM had directed the government toask the district collectors of the Dangs and Surat to remain present at the meeting with the bench members, only residence district collectors (RDCs) would attend the meeting, along with other senior officials, as the representatives of the two district collectors. He did not give reasons for this.
Later, a senior officer told The Indian Express that only two representatives from each of the organisations of different communities, mainly the Christian and Hindu, would be allowed to make representation before the special bench so as to avoid rush at the venue of the hearing.
After receiving representations from both the government and leaders of different communities, the bench members will return to Delhi on Thursday morning. The government may request the bench to give it at least 10 days' time to submit a detailed report to the latter. After receiving this report and the representations from leaders of different communities, the bench members are expected to submit their final report to the NCMsometime in the third week of this month, the officer said.
When asked, the officer conceded that the Commission's decision to dispatch its special bench, instead of a fact-finding team, to Gujarat was something ``unprecedented in the history of the NCM''.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.