Opinion Hindutva Terror

An editorial in CPM weekly People’s Democracy emphasised that India must display “zero tolerance” to “all forms” and “expressions” of terrorism. The article slams the RSS,saying its history and way of functioning belies all defence of it. “The issue of imparting militant training to the Hindus and the use of violence as a political weapon by the RSS has a long history. It was V.D. Savarkar who gave the slogan ‘Hinduise all politics and militarise Hindudom’. Inspired by this,B.S. Moonje,mentor of RSS founder K.B. Hegdewar,travelled to Italy to meet the fascist dictator,Benito Mussolini.” It says that “upon (his) return to India,Moonje established the Central Hindu Military Education Society at Nasik in 1935,the precursor to the Bhonsala Military School.” It accepts the RSS argument that an entire community cannot be equated with terror,but argues that the same yardstick should apply to other religions as well.

RIFT in gujarat bjp

An editorial in CPI journal New Age says that the rift in the Gujarat BJP has exposed the real face of Chief Minister Narendra Modi. It notes that all three former BJP Gujarat CMs and the lone cabinet minister from the state in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government have come out against Modi. “All of them have alleged that Modi treats the state as his fiefdom and dumps the party and Sangh (Parivar) workers after using them in elections. The resentment against Modi is so strong that even RSS pracharaks are joining hands with the rebels,” it says.

The editorial claims that the Gujarat growth story is a hoax and alleges that people are suffering due to bad governance and corruption. It states that despite Modi’s claims,millions of dollars in FDI have not materialised: “Not even 15 per cent of the announced FDI has come. But (the) Modi government has forcibly acquired huge of tracts of land for industrialisation”. The editorial mentions agitations by farmers against forceful evictions and notes that two ministers in the Modi government were indicted by two courts on corruption charges last week.

It concludes with the forthcoming Assembly election. “With growing revolt within the ruling party and disclosures about mis-governance and corruption,Modi’s dream of a hat-trick before launching himself for the bigger race in 2014 will remain a dream… if the Congress goes for the battle as a united house and without the so-called soft Hindutva card that has failed twice in the past”.

ChHATTISGARH ENCOUNTER

The CPI(ML) weekly ML Update discusses the controversial encounter against Maoists in Chhattisgarh. It says the “horrific incident” and the state’s response to it has “exposed” Operation Green Hunt as a war on the people.

The article criticises the Union home ministry and the Chhattisgarh government,saying that while they continue to claim that most of those killed were “wanted Naxals”,“it is clear from the investigative reports of journalists and civil liberties’ groups,that there were no Maoist leaders amongst those killed.” The article questions the claims made by the state government and home ministry on the number of Naxals killed in the encounter. “While the official versions… have shifted and changed and contradicted each other daily,the villagers’ story has remained constant,” it adds.

The article concludes by calling for a high-level judicial probe conducted by judges based outside of Chhattisgarh,the resignation of the Union home minister and the scrapping of Operation Green Hunt.

Compiled by Manoj C.G.