New Delhi:
After the Supreme Court slammed Delhi Police for its crackdown at Baba Ramdev's rally in Ramlila Maidan in June last year, top BJP leaders are already using it as a poll issue in Uttar Pradesh. They ask if Home Minister P Chidambaram is not responsible for the crackdown, then how is Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi being held accountable for the Gujarat riots?
Speaking to NDTV in Saharanpur, senior leader Rajnath Singh said the police couldn't have acted without a political decision. "I believe that without instructions from the Centre, the police would not have done such a thing. There has to be a judicial body under the PM which can conduct an enquiry into the matter and find out who gave the orders to baton charge the people who had gathered. If they claim that the Home Minister has nothing to do with this, then I would say that whatever happened in Gujarat was also not something that is to be answered for by Narendra Modi," he said.
The Congress was quick to dismiss this suggestion. Party Spokesperson Manish Tiwari said the police action at the Ramlila Maidan could not be compared to the Gujarat riots.
The Supreme Court in its verdict on Thursday had rapped the Delhi Police for the midnight violence at the Ramlila Maidan, and said it was a "glaring example of trust deficit" between the people and the government.
A Bench of justices BS Chauhan and Swatanter Kumar also said the yoga guru, Baba Ramdev was guilty of negligence.
Reacting sharply to this observation, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad maintained, "Such an attack on peaceful supporters of Ramdev would not have been possible without political clearance at a very high level. The policemen have suffered, but what about political accountability?"
He said the BJP holds "not only" Home Minister Chidambaram and HRD Minister Kapil Sibal "accountable and responsible" for the incident but also Gandhi and the Prime Minister "accountable" for it.
"(That is)...because her party and the government have sustained a campaign against Ramdev, Anna Hazare and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar," he alleged.
He said the judgement "reinforces" that the UPA government is "repressive" against those who expose and try to protest against corruption. "The earlier judgement on 2G further establishes that the UPA government is also corrupt...The 122 licences cancelled were granted through corruption and manipulation."
(
With PTI inputs)