Author: S. Nagesh Kumar
Publication: The Hindu
Date: August 13, 2007
URL: http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/13/stories/2007081357320400.htm
YSR dropped hints very early that he had no
intention to act against Majlis MLAs in the Taslima attack episode
The Congress Government's benign response
to the brazen attack on Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen by three MIM legislators
has evoked despair and disbelief among the intelligentsia although it may
have endeared the ruling dispensation to fundamentalist forces.
It has conveyed an impression that political
compulsions have overridden its mandate to maintain law and order. This concern
stems from the unabashed partisan action of police in filing a case against
Ms. Taslima Nasreen who hardly uttered anything at the book release function
that could be perceived as provoking enmity and letting off the three MIM
MLAs who attacked the writer in full glare of television cameras and the press.
Only the MIM leaders themselves and few sections
like the Majlis Bachao Tehreek have refused to condemn the action. These sections
have gone to the length of lampooning the MLAs for hurling bouquets instead
of footwear at the acclaimed author for hurting the sentiments of Muslims
through her writings in 'Lajja'.
Avoiding press
Faced with flak for softness towards the assailants,
who were perceived as curbing freedom of expression, Chief Minister Y. S.
Rajasekhara Reddy has avoided interactions with the press. "Dr. Reddy
is busy with meetings," was the stock reply given by the Chief Minister's
Office.
Dr. Reddy's coyness has left the city police
holding the unwanted baby. Police Commissioner Balwinder Singh's patience
and experience were tested to the extreme at a press conference. He had to
gulp a glass of water when questioned about the failure to take action against
MIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi for his widely publicised statement that
his party would implement the fatwa against Ms. Nasreen if she visited the
city again. "What can we do, when there is pressure from our political
bosses not to act," is the lament of top police officials. The Taslima
episode has shaken the confidence about the police's courage of conviction,
especially when someone plays the religious card after committing a crime
or if one belongs to the MIM, a party that wields unquestioned political clout
in the old city. Moreover, the intelligence-gathering machinery failed to
know in advance about Ms. Nasreen's visit though the media had positioned
its teams at the Press Club. It is no secret in Hyderabad press corps that
State intelligence sleuths rely heavily on journalists for political inputs.
Where the MIM could get wind of Ms. Nasreen's visit, these sleuths could not.
The Chief Minister dropped hints very early
that he had no intention to act against Majlis MLAs. He condemned the attack
perfunctorily, under pressure from a delegation of outraged journalists, and
gave the clichéd response: "The law will take its own course",
a cynical euphemism of politicians that they are dithering. Congress leaders
who matter have not yet condemned the attack.
Electoral ally
They have good political reasons too. The
MIM has been a steadfast electoral ally of the Congress. MIM's vote bank will
be crucial for the Congress in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation
elections, as and when they are held. On its part, the MIM has worries beyond
the CPI (M)'s inroads into the old city. Ahead of the municipal elections,
it has to buttress its image of being a champion of Muslims' interests. It
has taken three days for the police to place evidence before a magistrate
and book a case of criminal intimidation (Sec. 506) against the MIM leader.
Contrast this with the way police promptly booked a case of attempt to murder
(Sec.307) on Congress MLA P. Janardhan Reddy's son in a road rage incident.
How the city police acts in the present case will be a test case for its nerve
and impartiality.
