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Just do it

Just do it

Author: Editorial
Publication: The Telegraph
Date: January 23, 2002

Violence and terrorist attacks are no longer things that happen in far away places like Jammu and Kashmir. They happen early in the morning on Calcutta's most important thoroughfare. The attack on the police picket outside the American Center on Tuesday morning underlined Calcutta's vulnerability and the incompetence of the city's police. The two may not be entirely unrelated. Assailants armed with AK-47s fired from motorcycles and killed four and injured 23 persons. In retaliation, not a shot was fired even though a posse of policemen were on the spot. This absence of reaction explains why West Bengal is seen by organized criminal gangs as a soft target. Groups that have claimed responsibility for the act probably have international links and are clearly identified as militant Islamic outfits. The motives for the carnage remain obscure: it could have been an action aimed at the United States of America or an act of revenge against the police or both. At the moment, the motives are far less important than the implications of the incident and what they suggest about the state of law and order in West Bengal. The delusion that West Bengal is a state where its citizens are safe has been dispelled by a spray of bullets from Kalshnikovs. The mention of the weapon is deliberate as its use indicates that sophisticated arms are freely available in the state and there is very little intelligence available about it.

The sense of crisis should provide for the chief minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, a remarkable opportunity to push through something that he was earlier stopped from doing. The threat to security should allow him to revive the prevention of organized crime ordinance and to have it endorsed by his cabinet. On an earlier occasion, he was prevented from doing this by pressure from the politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and his Left Front partners. These upholders of political correctness are no longer in a position to oppose an ordinance that has become a necessity in West Bengal. Mr Bhattacharjee must remember that his primary loyalty is to the inhabitants of the state and not to the politburo of his party. He has been elected by the people of West Bengal and he must act to provide them with security and to give them confidence. To act in any other manner would be irresponsible and disastrous for the future of the state and the image of the chief minister. Despite his best efforts and intentions, Mr Bhattacharjee is still compelled to move with a lot of baggage - the baggage of political correctness, of pious platitudes from the politburo, the hocus pocus of human rights violation and so on. Mr Bhattacharjee should allow nothing to stand in the way of doing what he thinks is good for the security of the state. He should have POCO passed. Do it, Mr Bhattacharjee, and do it now.
 


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