It is no news that we have villains in uniform. We have seen them operating in Singur and Nandigram in West Bengal and throughout the state in Kerala with impunity. But the focus here is on the cops from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh because they have been caught with their hands stained encountering terrorists. If thousands of innocent lives are lost in terrorist mayhem it is time to keep quiet, suffer in silence, so that the social harmony is not disturbed. Hundreds of men in uniform get killed in terrorist attacks, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, but they merely add to the statistics in the Home department. But if an alleged innocent person is killed in the fight on terror it stirs our national conscience. It is a national shame, screaming headlines tell. Many political obituaries are written in quick succession and all past encounters with terrorists are recreated to paint a macabre picture of Hindu brutality.
This story is repeating itself in the latest fake encounter serial in Gujarat in which a number of senior police officials have been charged with most heinous of crimes. There is no denying the fact that the alleged victims were terror operatives. They were inter-state gangsters. Each one of them had dozens of cases charged against them; they included murder charges. The Congress party wants to investigate all the encounters that took place in Gujarat after Narendra Modi became Chief Minister. The Congress president Sonia Gandhi wants to know, who is the godfather of encounter specialists. Quite an understandable curiosity that is. The Congress started its campaign preparations for Gujarat, with Sonia Gandhi addressing a rally where she reportedly raised this question wanting to know further who that godfather was.
The CPM, which stonewalled all suggestions of a CBI inquiry into the Nandigram rape and murder cases, has also joined the Congress chorus in demanding CBI for Gujarat. The party too wants to widen the scope of the inquiry to cover all the past instances of police action in the state.
Talking of police brutality the CPM-ruled states have the most dubious record in state-sponsored violence on innocent political rivals. In Kerala, they don'tcall it encounter. It has a politically correct terminology; they are known as custody deaths. Ever since the CPM-led government came to power 14 months ago there were instances of over three dozen lock-up deaths in the state making it an average of two every month. This average was half under the Congress-led UDF regime. Rivals are eliminated using police, which has got totally politicized under these intolerant parties. There is no secular non-secular debate here.
The national capital has witnessed a number of encounter deaths in recent years. The record of J&K and Maharashtra is worse. Nobody tried to raise an accusing finger looking for a godfather for these encounters. It is an accepted norm world over that in a fight against terrorism some innocent persons get caught, even some times get harmed. And that is not deliberate.
The tragedy in India is that even the fight against terrorism is communalised. By the same parties who from the rooftops declare that terrorists have no religion. Why is it that parties which have such poor record in police atrocities on common man make such a hue and cry when it comes to the life and liberties of terrorists?
Demonising Narendra Modi is a favourite past time of Muslim-obsessed politicians in the country. After repealing TADA, introducing communal angle into every aspect of state policy and dilly-dallying on Afzal clemency petition, the UPA has an agenda to communalise and attract Muslim vote bank by sympathising if not promoting the terrorist line. Its scheme is to make terrorists socially acceptable.
We are of the view that terrorists have no right to demand the privileges of common citizens and that terrorists should be dealt under special laws, giving them no scope for blackmailing human simplicity after committing the most inhuman crimes on humanity and the nation. The record of Gujarat in dealing with terrorist gangs and bursting numerous terror modules is commendable. In fact, Narendra Modi deserves a national salute for giving Gujarat five years of terror free and peaceful life focussed entirely on progress and common good. The only hope the Congress sees for its electoral revival in the state is in raking up the ghosts of past riots, building up a campaign on the cock and bull stories of intolerance to divisive propaganda.
The terrorists have a game plan. They want to create an atmosphere of unchallenged supremacy over the law-enforcing agencies. The Congress and its allies falling prey to this high-pitched onslaught on the state is inadvertently weakening the security forces? resolve to combat and confront these anti-national elements.
Who will fight for the country, and who will protect the lives of innocent citizens, if the morale of the men in uniform is systematically undermined? Our system punishes more policemen than terrorists.
