The Hindu : High alert in Gujarat for Holi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 29, 2002

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High alert in Gujarat for Holi

By Manas Dasgupta

AHMEDABAD MARCH 28. The Gujarat Government is not taking any chances for the Holi festival tomorrow. Even as sporadic violence continued, the situation had become tense in view of the festival and the provocative leaflets making the rounds instigating the people to violence "to save Gujarat''. A high alert is being maintained in all sensitive areas.

An official spokesman said that besides the regular police, the Rapid Action Force and the Army personnel would be patrolling sensitive areas.

The arson in the minority-dominated Sarkhej locality in Ahmedabad late last night and today, in which several hotels and shops were set afire, was worrying the authorities. Indefinite curfew has been clamped in Sarkhej even as it was relaxed in phases for women and children in the six other curfew-imposed police station areas in the city.

However, most other parts of the State remained incident-free and curfew was relaxed in Baroda, Himmatnagar, Broach, Godhra, Amod, Modasa, Viramgam and several other towns except in Chhota-Udepur, Jambusar, Prantij and a few other towns.

Resolution ignores rehabilitation

The Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, has again ignored the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee's concern for proper rehabilitation of the riot-affected. The "Government Resolution'' issued today constituting the all-party committee under the chairmanship of the Governor, Sunder Singh Bhandari, chose to ignore the rehabilitation aspect.

The Congress had raised objections to the earlier notification issued on Sunday and demanded inclusion of "rehabilitation'' of the riot-affected within the ambit of the committee to make its functioning meaningful. The Pradesh Congress Committee president, Amarsinh Chaudhary, said rehabilitation was a more contentious issue than relief because of the complications created by the demolition of the houses of minorities and their fear to return.

Mr. Chaudhary had also drawn the party president, Sonia Gandhi's attention to bring the issue to the notice of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister had reportedly insisted on proper rehabilitation of the affected and advised Mr. Modi to take all the parties and prominent citizens into confidence on this.

But though the "GR'' in its preamble refers to rehabilitation and the Prime Minister's concern, there is no mention of it in the terms and reference of the 14-member committee. The enclosed list of tasks before the committee includes health and sanitation, water supply and educational facilities for the children in the relief camps and other problems faced by the inmates in relief camps.

Meanwhile, some senior police officials have taken strong objection to the State Government filing a caveat before the Central Administrative Tribunal demanding a chance to be heard in case any IPS officer filed a complaint against the recent transfers.

A senior police officer said the Government's action showed its "distrust'' in the officers because most of them transferred earlier this week had already taken up the new assignments. The official said every time the State faced a law and order problem, police officers were made "scapegoats'', but the caveat was new and never in the past had the Government demonstrated such lack of faith in the IPS officers.

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High alert in Gujarat for Holi