Why was Article 355 not invoked during Gujarat riots: Ex-Vice President Hamid Ansari
New Delhi, Oct 13: Referring to the 2002 Gujarat riots, former vice president Hamid Ansari Saturday asked why was Article 355 of the Constitution not invoked by the then Union government even when its defence minister was on the spot.
Ansari made the remarks during the launch of a book -- 'The Sarkari Mussalman' by Lt Gen. (retd) Zameer Uddin Shah, who had led the Army Division that quelled the Gujarat riots in the state.
The former vice president also said there were "no military solutions to insurgency" as normalcy can be restored only by winning the hearts and minds of people.
"'The initial reaction of the civil administration was tardy; curfew had been ordered but not enforced; no attempt were made to convene peace committees and attitude of police was partisan'," Ansari quoted some of the observations from Shah's book on the riots.
But, the former vice president observed, that the book was silent "about the role of the political leadership".
"If the civil and police administration fails to respond to a massive failure of law and order, where does the responsibility rests in a democratic and parliamentary system," he asked.
"Why was Article 355 of the Constitution that makes it a duty of the Union to protect a state against internal disturbance not invoked even when the Centre had the benefit of Raksha Mantri on the spot?" he asked.
Article 355 pertains to 'duty of the Union to protect states against external aggression and internal disturbance'.
The reportage of Gujarat happenings in the national and international media was extensive and even the NHRC took note of it, he said.
"In an interview to a Malayalam weekly in 2005, former president K R Narayanan had revealed his remonstrations with the government and observed, and I quote (Narayanan) -- 'Military was sent but not given the power to shoot. And, there was a conspiracy involving the central and the state government behind the Gujarat riots'," he said.
The book has kicked up a controversy, alleging that transport and other logistics support "arrived a day later" for the army troops that had landed in Ahmedabad after communal riots broke out in the state.
Lt Gen. Shah, at the function, said he had met then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and then defence minister George Fernandes at the CM's residence at 2 AM on March 1 and sought transport and logistics support.
"But, the transport rolled in only on March 2," he alleged, adding "hundreds of officers from my formation can speak on that, and there are war diaries of the battalion".
However, Jasim Mohammad, director of Forum for Muslim Studies and Analysis, Aligarh, has countered the claims made by Shah in his book about the role of the then Gujarat government.
"Shah's claims in the book about the then Gujarat government is wrong. He had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2016, where I was also present and Shah sahab had praised Modi for providing support to the Army in 2002 as the chief minister," Mohammad claimed, adding, "how can these both things be true at the same time".
On Friday, Mohammad had even written a letter to Ansari, urging him not to attend the book release function.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
