Fishing in troubled waters

Arunkumar Bhatt

THE political games being played in the aftermath of the communal riots in Malegaon are more abhorrent than the violence itself. Political parties of all hues are engaged in scoring over each other and if the macabre manipulations lead to a fresh bout of violence so be it. The real culprits, meanwhile, are going scot- free.

The post-riot agenda is being dictated by the coming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and the municipal polls in Maharashtra early next month. Among the issues being discussed are the biter rivalry between Malegaon's sitting and former legislators, a love-hate relationship between two leading members of the ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party dispensation, the saffron parties' eagerness to fish in troubled waters and the tug of war between the Chief Minister, Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh, and his detractors.

About 75 to 80 per cent of the population of Malegaon, known for its powerlooms, are Muslims, mostly hailing from Uttar Pradesh. Worried about the impact of the riots in Uttar Pradesh and desirous of improving its image among the minorities, the Congress leadership sent three Congress Working Committee members to the town.

This was the second option. The first was for the party president, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, to visit Malegaon on October 29, ostensibly to inaugurate the sugar factory set up by Mr. Deshmukh's son, Mr. Amit Deshmukh. But the Chief Minister advised against it in view of the security threat involved.

The CWC members - Mr. Motilal Vora, Mr. Ahmed Patel and Mr. Oscar Fernandes - spent a few hours in Malegaon and submitted their report to the central leadership but not before calling for a judicial probe into the riots, providing an opportunity to Mr. Deshmukh's rivals in the party to demand his replacement.

Soon several leading Congressmen, including Mr. Govindrao Adik, president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee, and Dr. Patangrao Kadam, Industries Minister, rushed to New Delhi to discuss party affairs. Mr. Deshmukh responded by declaring a judicial inquiry and announcing a grant of Rs. 2 lakhs to the families of each of those killed in the riots.

He underscored the limitations of a coalition Government, pointing out that the Home portfolio was with the NCP and he had no direct control over its action. Like the central leadership, the Chief Minister's interest was poll-related. A major setback in the civic polls could further strengthen the Adik group.

Mr. Deshmukh himself went to Malegaon and distributed cheques to the next of kin of the deceased. The Opposition leader, Mr. Narayan Rane, promptly termed it a ``prize to the rioters'' being paid when the State Government had no money to pay even the salaries of its staff.

Mr. Ahmed organised a march on October 19, which he says, was aimed at protesting the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan. But his detractors allege that it supported Osama bin Laden whose portraits were carried by several demonstrators. Then on October 26, riots broke out after a policeman snatched from a demonstrator a pamphlet calling for boycott of American products.

Mr. Ahmed said there was no rioting and that the troubled caused by a slight misunderstanding would have been resolved immediately had the Congress MLA, Mr. Shaikh Rasheed, not arrived on the scene and behaved rudely with the crowd. In his view, Mr. Rasheed engineered the riots with the help of the Shiv Sena, the BJP, the Hindu Ekta and the Janata Raja Mitra Mandal.

Mr. Ahmed represented Malegaon in the State Assembly for six terms, until Mr. Rasheed defeated him in the last general elections two years ago. Many believe that the tussle between the two for commanding total support of Malegaon's Muslims caused the riots.

The saffron parties, however, accuse the Congress of having sought the judicial probe to protect Mr. Ahmed, a member of the coordination committee of the ruling Democratic Front. They want immediate action against Mr. Ahmed.

Mr. Ahmed, denying that he or his supporters had anything to do with the riots, said corrupt police officers fired only on Muslims.

The allegations and counter-allegations with an eye on votes are pushing aside the question of bringing the culprits to book.

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