Lalu or Modi – who should be in jail? Debate heats up between Congress and BJP – people say put all politicians in Jail!
Balaji Reddy
May 2, 2005

People in the main street of India are upset with politicians. Like in other countries, India’s common people are tired of harboring hooligans in the name of Ministers. In some other countries these hooligans are white collared, have a law degree and serve the special interests. In India these are outright thugs kidnapping and murdering people. Interestingly, a small girl in Bihar believes, synonym for Politician is Goonda or Hooligan!

The debate is on who will go first to jail? Modi or Lalu – how about putting them in the same cell?

According to media reports, Accusing the BJP-led NDA of adopting double standards on the issue of tainted ministers, Union Minister Kapil Sibal said the BJP should first ask Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to resign and face the law in connection with the Gujarat massacre before demanding the resignation of Railway Minister Laloo Prasad.

Diaries of senior Gujarat police officer R B Sreekumar make it clear that the administration was directly involved in the Gujarat riots in 2002, he claimed and said Modi should be in "jail and not in the Chief Minister's chair".

"The BJP leadership which talks about morality and principles has not till date publicly criticised Narendra Modi for the massacre of Muslims in the Gujarat riots. They should ask him to resign and face the law, before asking for resignation of Laloo Prasad or any other minister," Sibal told a BBC Hindi programme last night.

"Those who are supporting Modi are direct supporters of criminalisation of politics. People like Modi have no right to be in politics. It is because of him that India had suffered humiliation at the international level.

A country like the US refused him a visa, and the organisers of a function in Britain withdrew the invitation. Could there be anything more disgraceful for the country," Sibal asked. The Congress leader said, "the BJP is adopting double standards on the issue of charge sheeted ministers. During their tenure, the proposals they put forward in an all-party meeting did not include the anti-corruption act and today they are shouting over corruption charges against Laloo Prasad. While in government they did not think corruption was a main issue, and now they are making noise over it." Sibal said, "first of all we need to understand whom would we call tainted. We have said many times we are ready for devising new guidelines.

The Prime Minister has recently said the country urgently needs new guidelines on the issue of tainted ministers. Why does not the NDA come forward and tell us what their stand is on the issue? "When this issue comes up then they are not ready to accept that criminal cases are pending against some of their top leaders in Babri masjid demolition case. They call it something else, despite IPC offences being registered against them. For BJP those are not serious cases, for them the single point agenda is Laloo Yadav, he is tainted and Modi is clean.

"What were the BJP leaders doing in Ayodhya? Were they fighting for the country's independence? When they themselves break the law with serious offences, it is something else, for the opponents anything can be picked up for making noise and boycotting Parliament." Asked if the Congress thought so seriously about Gujarat riots, then why did it not so far fulfill its election promise of giving justice to the riot victims, Sibal said: "the rule of law would be followed in Gujarat. Wait and see.

"We have been in the government for just a year. Modi ji would reach the place where he should be in. The law would take its course, and its noose would tighten around all those responsible for the massacre of innocent people of Gujarat, no matter how high they may be.

"Diaries of senior Gujarat police officer R B Sreekumar make it clear that the administration was directly involved in the riots, Narendra Modi should be in a jail and not in the Chief Minister's chair," Sibal said.

Asked what the Congress party wants in Gujarat, the senior Congress leader said: "we demand FIRs be registered, speedy investigation carried out and the guilty be punished without any mercy. Supreme Court has equated Narendra Modi government in Gujarat to modern day Neros. Is anything more left to be said," the Union Minister asked.

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