In a shocking series of blasts in Jaipur almost a hundred people have lost their lives and many more have been injured.
Terrorism and the war against it have once again become hot topics in the media and political circles. As usual, the police immediately leaked to the press the names of suspected outfits behind the blasts and called them Pakistan and Bangladesh based. However, evidence and events since then have been contradictory to such claims. In the meantime, the Central and state governments have arbitrarily incarcerated poor Bengali Muslims in detention camps.
The chief minister of Rajasthan, who is going to face elections soon, is advocating for a tough anti-terror law. Ever since POTA was withdrawn due to pressure from the democratic movement, in which the Lok Raj Sangathan too played a major role, there has been a clamour for tough anti-terrorist laws However, it has not been explained how terrorist acts still took place during their rule despite a tough law like POTA, which had unacceptable provisions for admitting custodial confessions, electronic evidence like intercepted cell phone calls, SMSes, emails and Internet chats, etc., as legitimate means.
The timing of the blasts just prior to the visit of the Indian foreign minister to Pakistan and the resumption of bilateral talks, has led to its own speculations. Some suspect that the blasts would put pressure on Pakistan, as cross border terrorism would once again be discussed as a major item on the agenda. Meanwhile, Dr Manmohan Singh has ascribed them to forces which want to sabotage peace talks between India and Pakistan! He has also put forward the proposal for having an agency in the style of the notorious FBI under the central government to deal with terrorism.
Clearly, there is more to the blasts than meets the eye and such incidents are only going to increase in the coming period as elections draw near and Congress and BJP start jockeying for their bid to power. With both groupings having very low credibility desperate times for them, will need desperate measures. Such incidents are divisive and serve to divert people from fighting for their rights or against issues like price rise, for which both the major political formations are responsible.
Lok Raj Sangathan condemns the dastardly perpetrators of the bomb blast as well as those responsible for harassing and torturing innocent people and fanning communal hatred and demands that they be given exemplary punishment.
by Secretariat of AIC, LRS
