Why entire anti-Modi front should party tonight?

Ahmedabad, 26 August, 2011

For Gujarat Congress, it must be a jubilant day today as retired Justice R.A.Mehta has been appointed as Lokayukta of the state by Governor of Gujarat. But as you continue to read this story further(till the end) you would surely realize that Mehta’s appointment is not only a good news just for Congress, but indeed a great news for entire anti-Modi front, and there’s no reason why Mukul Sinha, Mahesh Bhatt and Teesta Setalvads of this world should not celebrate the evening by throwing a party.

Gujarat Governor, the leader of opposition and Gujarat High Court Chief Justice had jointly recommended former acting Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court Shri R.A.Mehta’s name as new Lokayukta of Gujarat. However the state government had some reservations and therefore it was not issuing notification in this regard. Recently the Gujarat High Court issued notice to the state government over delay in appointment of Mehta as Lokayukta.

Editor’s note:

Mehta’s formal introduction(profile) is presented in previous article, and it will be available in the newspapers too tomorrow morning. But here I am narrating the other aspect of Mr. Mehta.

As a journalist, I had talked to retired Justice R.A.Mehta for a few minutes early this year on the sideline of a function organized by leftist anti-Modi NGO operator Shabnam Hashmi.

Hashmi had organized a ‘public hearing’ programme early this year in Ahmedabad’s Mehandi Nawaz Jung auditorium under the title ‘Exposing the Unseen: Tracing Lives of Muslims in Gujarat post 2002’. I had attended this programme as a curious reporter and as per what I saw, the theme of this programme was like this: the Muslims who experience so called biased approach of the state allegedly because they were Muslims, were brought here from different parts of Gujarat(barring Saurashtra and Kutch) to tell their stories from stage on mike. There were relatives and friends of Muslims that are accused of blasts, Pakistan flag unfurling , murder of animal right worker, managing passport to Bangladeshi intruder etc. A panel of four ‘judges’ heard them and arrived at a verdict.

Interestingly the panel was headed by Justice RA Mehta(the other members were Annie Raja, Gagan Sethi and Githa Hariharan).

Responses of jury were sent to media persons via email by Shabnam Hashmi. It would be interesting for our readers to read here some of the recommendations of jury led by Justice RA Mehta:

-There should be a high-powered judicial commission headed by a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court appointed to examine all cases of terror across the country. Those that seem doubtful or fabrications should be handed over to a Special Investigation Team appointed and supervised by the high-powered judicial commission.

-A special police officer for safeguarding the rights of minorities in minority concentrated police stations be put to monitor the cases registered by and against Muslims and oversee their investigation so as to counter a bias.

-A special central government Ministry of Minority Affairs (MOMA) Watch must be set up to ensure all the schemes where minorities have an entitlement are made available, starting from the PDS system and access to all government schemes.

-A legal aid and sensitive advice system must be made available at each district level by paying for one part time lawyer to one NGO per taluka to ensure legal entitlement.

-That MOMA should set up a team of 5 senior officers in Gujarat to directly provide facilitation support in all the cases which came up for public hearing and see that the victims get their entitlement but more so appropriate charges and complaints are filed by this MOMA team on behalf of the victim.

–Banning of any social organizations which spread hatred, include those who are involved in door to door threats and not allowing the Muslim community to get their entitlements.

-That people living as “IDP”s need be acknowledged officially as IDPs to get their share of the package and this should be to any individual who can prove that he/she was a victim of 2002 communal violence or any other similar violence after that. All violence post 2002 must be seen as a continuation of that as normalcy was never achieved as cases are still on and witness protection has not been effective.

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During this public hearing programme, one of the organizers Shri Gagan Sethi described Shri RA Mehta as a great supporter and guide behind-the-curtain to their movement. At the end of the programme when Mr. Mehta was approached by Etv Gujarati reporter to say something on camera, Shri Mehta refused and rescued himself from camera frame. When as a journalist I asked Shri Mehta something about the event, he refused to talk. His reluctance was well understood. He perhaps didn’t want to show up his association with these NGOs in public. When at the end of this ‘public hearing’ programme, Mehta was asked to say something on the stage, he just said he backed the issues raised in the function.

Actually retired Justice Mehta has been actively participating in such NGO causes ever since he retired in 1998. Some examples are presented below:

Mehta was adviser in making of ‘Communalism in Orissa’ report for the Indian People’s Tribunal on Environment and Human Rights(NGO). He accompanied Dr. Asha Hans, Dr. Ram Puniyani and Ms Sameena Dalwai on visit to Phulbani where many Hindus are converted to Christianity. Summary report of this NGO tribunal with Mehta as one of the members was this: We recommend that the Government of Orissa set up a committee to assess and offer reparations retroactively to the Christian community in Raikia village, where a Catholic church had been vandalized, and the Christian community targeted and threatened in 2004. We recommend that the Government of Orissa immediately intervene to end the social and economic constraints placed against the Christian community in Raikia, and stop the coercive Hinduisation of Adivasis in the area. We recommend that the Government of Orissa and the State Human Rights Commission, once initiated, undertake regular and strict monitoring of the activities of the Bajrang Dal, VHP, and RSS, in the district.

According to The Hindu report of June.15, 2005, proceeding of NGO tribunal on Communalism in Orissa with Mr. Mehta as its member was disrupted allegedly by VHP and Bajrang dal workers. Both Mehta and Usha termed the incident as “shocking, outrageous and highly deplorable.”

In 2007 Mehta was one of the panelists along with Sayeda Hamir, Dilip Padgaonkar and Napoothiri in a programme at Gujarat Vidyapith where a three-point charter of demands presented said Muslims demand “recognition as citizens of India with basic rights to life with dignity and livelihood.”

In 2008 when Justice K.G. Shah, who was a member of the commission probing the riot related cases of Gujarat after Godhra train carnage in the year 2002 passed away, leftist anti-Modi NGO Jan Sangharsh Manch by its letter dtd. 25-3-2008 had suggested the names of five judges for consideration of the government for appointment of any of them to fill up the vacancy. Justice RA Mehta was one of those five judges suggested.

Justice RA Mehta was lastly in news when Anna Hazare’s stay was arranged at his house during his visit to Ahmedabad. Hazare’s this visit was hosted by socialists and left-tilted NGO operators including Mallika Sarabhai, a known anti-Modi personality.

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As a Lokayukta, Mehta’s role will be limited to probing of corruption charges in unbiased manner. Let’s hope he would behave in unbiased manner. In any case at-least at this time political instability is smelling on the other end of tunnel, in this speedily progressing state with prosperity and peace in all corners.

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Updates

In September 2011, Shri RA Mehta inaugurated painting exhibition of Praveen Mishra, an active member of anti-Modi leftists Mukul Sinha led Jan Sangharsh Manch. Praveen Mishra is a person who fought election against Narendra Modi in Maninagar constituency in 2007 and lost deposit.