The Hindu : `Give us a roof, then we will think of votes'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Aug 11, 2002

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`Give us a roof, then we will think of votes'

By Manas Dasgupta

AHMEDABAD Aug.10. The Chief Election Commissioner, J. M. Lyngdoh, and his two Commissioners, T. S. Krishnamurthy and B. B. Tandon, on a visit to Gujarat to decide on early Assembly elections, today heard in Vadodara the same appeals they heard in Ahmedabad yesterday from the riot-hit people: "First give us roofs, then we will think of votes.''

The CEC and his deputies visited some of the riot-affected areas in Vadodara and talked to various delegations to assess the situation. The team, which is scheduled to return to Delhi late tonight or tomorrow morning, declined to make any comment.

The team visited Hanuman Tekri where Best Bakery, scene of the worst carnage in the city where 14 persons were burnt alive, is located. The Collector, who accompanied Mr. Lyngdoh and the team, was at the receiving end as he could not satisfactorily answer some queries on the background of the bakery.

The ruling BJP, which is demanding early elections, created a commotion at the Circuit House — where the CEC and the team were receiving delegations — raising objections about their agreeing to meet the former Minister, Jaspal Singh. The BJP claimed that Mr. Singh was no longer connected with any political party or non-government organisations but its objections were brushed aside because the former BJP leader is now a member of the Samajwadi Party. The ruling party also expressed reservations that the CEC and the team were meeting only delegations of the Muslim minority, ignoring the Hindu-dominated areas hit by the riots.

Among the areas the team visited were Babamanpura, Kisanwadi, Panigate, Raja-Rani ki Talao and Marathe village on the outskirts from where many Muslim families had migrated during the riots. In fact, the sarpanch of the village may have ruined the BJP's case for early elections when he reportedly told Mr. Lyngdoh that only those Muslims who had land in the village were welcome to return. The non-land owning families would not be allowed to return.

Mr. Lyngdoh also held a one-to-one meeting with Zahira Sheikh, main complainant in the Best Bakery case, and her mother, who told the CEC that elections were not a priority for them. In many affected areas, the people raised banners with the slogan, "Give us roof and not elections.''

While the people in Hindu-dominated Kisanwadi locality told the Commission that there was no hurdle in holding the elections immediately, a delegation of the People's Union of Civil Liberties, led by Kirit Bhatt, suggested against it. The Congress delegation accused the BJP of attempting to sabotage a Congress rallies. In contrast, the BJP claimed that the situation was conducive for elections.

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