Even the Indian Railways has done away with the Third Class

The bonding between the Congress and the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal may play a crucial role in the forthcoming elections. The alliance is bound to give the Communist Party of India-Marxist sleepless nights in its stronghold.

To find out how serious the threat to the CPI-M is and what are the chances of the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC, rediff.com’s Vicky Nanjappa spoke to Dinesh Trivedi, former Rajya Sabha member who is now contesting on a TMC ticket from the Barrackpore constituency.

 

How serious is the TMC about the alliance with the Congress? What are the plans for the future?

We are very serious about it and I can say that the Congress and the TMC are solidly together. The elections will be fought together and the TMC will part of the Congress government at the Centre.

Do you think your alliance can be a serious threat to the CPI-M and its Left allies?

We will dent the CPI-M’s chances. After these elections, the CPI-M will become irrelevant in national politics. They have already become desperate in West Bengal. The CPI-M over the years has managed to win only thanks to rigging of votes.

The CPI-M has apologised for the violence in Nandigram [Images]. What do you think has prompted them to admit Nandigram was a mistake?

Well if they have honestly apologised for it, I can only laugh about it. Honesty and the CPI-M don’t go hand in hand. In fact honesty and the CPI-M are poles apart. The true face of the CPI-M has come out in the open and the people have realised it. Apologising for Nandigram is not the answer. If they truly want to apologise then they should quit politics and do social service instead.

Does the Third Front pose a threat to the Congress? What are the TMC’s views on the Third Front?

Even the Indian Railways has done away with the third class and I think it is time for the country to do away with this Third Front. This front is nothing but an alliance of disgruntled bodies and in my view it has absolutely no relevance.

Are you confident of the Congress sticking with the TMC? CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat [Images] offered to hold talks with the Congress after the elections. Doesn’t this worry you especially if the CPI-M manages to bag more seats than the TMC?

Let Karat say what he wants. It is of no relevance to us. The Congress will stick with us no matter what. Let me assure you something here and also tell Karat this. The Congress is in no mood to talk to the CPI-M. They know what the CPI-M has done to them and I am sure that they are not interested in entering into any sort of alliance with the party.

Are you sure that you can trust the Congress? The numbers game post elections can be a very dirty game. There are no friends there at that time.

Yes I am sure about our faith in the Congress and I am telling you that we will be part of that government. Moreover we will bag more seats than the Congress and looking at the present trend, I am confident that the CPI-M will become irrelevant as it won’t manage to cross even double digits. We trust the Congress and this party knows what is good for the country. An alliance with the CPI-M is bad for the nation and the Congress is aware of it.

On the other hand both the Congress and the TMC are campaigning together. You will see for yourself when Sonia Gandhi [Images], Rahul Gandhi [Images], Pranab Mukherjee [Images] and Mamata Banerjee campaign on one plank together. This will make matters clear for sure.

Varun will be able to contest

The road ahead for Varun Gandhi [Images] looks tough, legally. Although the son of late Sanjay Gandhi cannot be prevented from contesting elections, he will have to explore several legal options before he gets out of the legal tangle that he is in, especially after sections of both the Indian Penal Code and National Security Act were slapped against him.

So what options does Varun have before him? Rediff.com spoke to legal experts and found out their opinion.

According to Vikram Hegde, senior advocate, the law does not bar Varun from contesting elections. The Supreme Court has very clearly stated that any person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Moreover, a person cannot be barred from contesting the elections unless he is sentenced for more than two years.

Charges on Varun and his legal options
The first charge is under Section 153 of the Indian Penal Code. This section deals with wantonly giving provocation with intention to cause riot. If there is rioting caused as a result of the speech, then the accused could be sentenced to a term of one year or slapped with a fine. In case there is no riot caused then the accused person could face a jail term of 6 months.

Although Section 153 may not cause a problem for Varun Gandhi’s political future, he could be in trouble if found guilty for Section 307 of the IPC, which deals with murder. If proven guilty under this section, Varun could face life imprisonment.

Hegde says that Varun could apply for bail under both these cases. Bail is a matter of right and if his counsel is able to convince the courts, then bail could be granted provided the BJP leader furnishes a bail bond and surety of the like sum.
Hegde also points to a lacuna in the police case where slapping of Section 307 is concerned. He says that this section was slapped after he had surrendered and hence he cannot be held directly responsible for an event after his surrender. The police case regarding this aspect is slightly weak, he says.

Varun has also been charged under the National Security Act. The Uttar Pradesh [Images] District Magistrate has booked him under Section 3(2) of the NSA. Section 3(2) states that if the state government may impose the Act to prevent a person from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of the state or from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of Public order.

Legal experts say that a person can be kept in custody for 90 days if booked under these provisions.

Varun sure does have a legal recourse. In the S R Bommai case, the Supreme Court had ruled that introduction of emergency powers under the Constitution can be questioned in the court. The same reasoning should be applied to the NSA.

Legal experts state that none of these provisions can stop Varun from contesting the elections. He has to be tried in all these cases and only if the court finds him guilty and sentences him to a term, which is more than 2 years, can he be barred from contesting the elections.

Options Varun has

The road ahead for Varun Gandhi [Images] seems to be a long and tiring one. Although he will not have many problems contesting the Lok Sabha elections, he sure has a lot to do legally, considering the fact that he has been booked under the National Security Act.
Confusion seems to have been caused when senior Bharatiya Janata Party [Images] leader Venkaiah Naidu said in Bengaluru [Images] on Monday that the Uttar Pradesh [Images] government could not have acted on its own while invoking NSA.

A close reading of the act, however, suggests that the power to invoke this act lies solely with the state government which in turn could delegate this power to the district magistrate or the Commissioner of Police under Section 3(3) of the NSA.

Senior advocate Navkesh Batra explains that the state government does not need to seek the intervention of the Centre while invoking this act.

Initially when invoked a 90-day detention period is handed out and this could be extended from time to time for a period not extending 90 days. However the authority will have to give an explanation each time the detention is extended.

In Varun Gandhi’s case, Section 3(3) of the NSA was invoked and the order was passed by the district magistrate. This order will now be placed before the state government which will have to pass an order either accepting or rejecting it. However the law mandates that the order by the state government be passed in 12 days failing which Varun Gandhi is entitled to be released.

Once the order is passed by the state government it will have to be placed before the Union government. The Union government will have to pass an order on the same expeditiously failing which Varun could be released irrespective of the merits of the case.

Although the word ‘expeditiously’ has not been defined and no time frame clearly mentioned, it is expected that the government acts fast. Going by a Supreme Court verdict, three weeks is also considered to be a delayed judgment which would mean that the Centre acts on this order within the three weeks period.

In case the Centre agrees that there is a fit case to invoke the NSA then the detention would continue. In case the Centre agrees with the orders of both the district magistrate and the state government and decides to keep Varun in custody, then the next option would be to go before an advisory board.

Every state has an advisory board comprising three members who are judges of the high court. The matter will be heard by the advisory board and an order passed on the same. Ironically there is no time frame mentioned for the board to pass an order.

However, this does not mean that Varun will continue to languish in jail until the advisory board takes a call on the matter. Varun could skip all the above mentioned procedures and move either the high court or the Supreme Court and seek quashing of the order passed against him under the NSA.

The threat from Bio warfare

The chief of the National Security Guards had recently warned that India could be attacked by terrorists using biological weapons and with the help of women affiliates of the Al Qaeda [Images].

Rogue outfits such as the Lashkar-e-Tayiba [Images] and the Al Qaeda are constantly planning various ways to attack India. While there were intelligence intercepts following the Mumbai [Images] attack that the next attack could be from the sea, reports now point to the fact that the next on the agenda of terror outfits would be biological warfare.

 

Intelligence Bureau officials say that the Inter-Services Intelligence has helped these terror outfits set up bases in Afghanistan way back in the late 1990s to build laboratories to manufacture biological weapons.

 

The first of such labs was established in 1998 in Kandahar where chemical and radiological weapons were being manufactured.

 

There is also a laboratory set up to manufacture biological weapons in Muzzafarabad in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. This lab which belongs to the Lashkar-e-Tayiba is known as the electronics laboratory. Apart from manufacturing detonators for bombs and weapons, this laboratory has also a full fledged unit to manufacture biological weapons.

 

Several scientists were recruited exclusively for this purpose and have been working on the manufacture of these weapons since the past ten years. Intelligence Bureau sources they expect that terror groups would try and use biological warfare when all other means are exhausted.

 

The effects of this warfare could be deadly and the repercussions horrific. If terrorists manage to effectively strike with biological weapons then the people could suffer from yellow fever, drug resistant tuberculosis and tickborne hemorrhagic fever viruses.

 

Although the effects of such an attack would be slow, it is bound to cause social disruption coupled with instability and a huge impact on public health.

 

Tracking this kind of terror and carriers of such weapons is extremely difficult.

 

There is information that the 800 odd women that have been recruited by the Al Qaeda to infiltrate into India could pose the real danger. Several of these women have come into India and have taken up domestic jobs and will continue to work here until further orders or unless they are nabbed.

Karat has confused the Third Front

The Third Front was born with a promise at Dobaspet, Tumkur near Bengaluru nearly a month back. The question now is whether everything is hunky-dory in the Third Front especially in the wake of a statement made by Communist Party of India-Marxist (an essential component in the Third Front) General Secretary Prakash Karat in which he stated that his party is open to talks with the Congress after the elections.
Veerendra Kumar, Janata Dal-Secular member of Parliament from Kerala and a key constituent of the new alliance, spoke to rediff.com’s Vicky Nanjappa and stated his perspectives.

How serious is this concept called the Third Front? Is it just an alliance which will help parties increase their bargaining capacity with either the United Progressive Alliance or the National Democratic Alliance after the elections?
That is incorrect. We have expressed our intentions during the Tumkur rally and we stand by it. The Third Front is serious about its future and it is not a forum which helps parties increase their bargaining capacity. 

In case the Third Front fails to touch the magic number, then which party would you ally with? Will it be the Bharatiya Janata Party or the Indian National Congress? 

Once again I would like to state here that we have made our intentions clear. We are a separate entity and have our own identification. The Third Front will either form the government on its own or it will not. There is no question of allying either with the BJP or the Congress. 

The Third Front portrayed a united front at Tumkur. Then what happened? Karat of the CPi-M said that he would hold talks with the Congress after the elections. It is the first sign of bickering within the front?

As per my knowledge there is unity in the Third Front. Several parties have come together on one platform to fight the elections together. However regarding Karat’s statement, I seriously have no idea as to why he made it. To be honest, his statement has only created confusion for all of us. 

What are you doing about it? Don’t you think that the problem needs to be addressed?

See, these are larger issues and I cannot comment much on it. Let H D Deve Gowda (JD-S chief) handle it. I think he will handle this situation. 

As expected the Third Front has already started having its share of confusion. What stability can you promise if at all you form the government?

These issues will be sorted out. Every front has its differences and it is not exclusive only to the Third Front. 

There is talk that the CPI-M will suffer a set back in your state — Kerala. Would you like to tell us more about it? 

There is not much I can comment on this. However I must say that there is a large deal of confusion within many parties especially in the wake of the statement made by Karat about holding talks with the Congress after the elections. This may have a repercussion on the CPI-M’s standing in Kerala. 

How does the Third Front view the Varun Gandhi controversy

I think that it is the NDA which has to explain things to the voter rather than us taking any stand on it. We are here to fight the elections and we will do our bit. The Varun Gandhi issue falls under the domain of the NDA and let them handle it. 

Lastly what are the chances of your own party? The last time you had three seats.

I can say with confidence that the Janata Dal-Secular will increase its vote share in the forthcoming elections. I cannot say anything more than this.

Why the captain took the plunge

Captain Gopinath has taken the plunge and decided to join the race to Parliament as an independent candidate from Bangalore. The man who is the brain behind low cost flying in India also plans on a low cost election and says that he will he will raise funds with the help of friends apart from contributing Rs 5 lakh on his own strength.

 

Members of the media in Bangalore caught up with Captain Gopinath at his plush residence on the even more plush Lavelle Road to find out on why he decided to enter the big bad world of politics.

 

What was the provocation?

 

It was my frustration and the agony and pain that I underwent following the 26/11 attack in Mumbai which prompted me to take the plunge. I was at the ITC hotel in Mumbai that night and I watched everything that happened. It frustrated me no end as I watched on helpless. The communal attacks in Karnataka is yet another reason for me to take this step. I decided I needed to speak up. I would also like to point out here that my daughter recently said that she wanted to go for a walk. I thought it was a normal walk in the Cubbon Park. However later I realized that she was talking about a protest march against the so called moral brigade. This set me thinking.

 

 

Why have you decided to contest as an independent?

All our political parties are aligned to one particular community. No politician opens his mouth without thinking about his vote bank. Moreover the rules of political parties are framed for cartels. I wanted to stay away from all this and hence decided to contest as an independent candidate. I want to stand up, speak and cater to the large new aspirational India.

  

Are elections new to you.

No. Elections are not new to me. I have fought an election on a BJP ticket in the year 1994. It was the assembly segment and I lost it to the Congress. I am very familiar with the election process.

 

 

Why Bangalore and why not your earlier constituency in Hassan?

The launch of my new venture, Deccan Logistics is round the corner and it requires me to stay in Bangalore. I will be getting delivery of the aircrafts in April and the launch is on May 4 and this requires me to stay in Bangalore. I must also add here that due to the launch of Deccan Logistics, I had dismissed the idea of contesting the elections ten days ago. However I felt the need later to contest the elections and even my friends suggested that I go ahead.

  

 

What about the money factor?

 

 I don’t have big funds like the rest of the politicians. I hope to impress a large number of people. I will take the support of students and campaign with the help of the internet and the blogs. I will take the help of a cross section of the society, especially the youth to generate a buzz. From my side I will contribute Rs 5 lakh to my own campaign.

  

Juggling between corporate and election schedule

There will be a compromise. I need to wake up earlier than usual, socialize less and spend more time with political and civic issues. I will manage it although it is going to be tough.

  

Did parties approach you and what about your constituency?

 

Yes parties have approached me, but I had decided to go ahead as an independent. Regarding the constituency, I am yet to take a final call. There are four constituencies in Bangalore and my well wishers and friends are in constant consultation and will take a decision soon in this regard.

 

 

What if you lose? What next?

 

It is alright if I lose the elections. I am making a symbolic point here. There are various issues to be addressed. Regarding terrorism we are just reacting. We need to take a stand on issues. I want to involve as many people as possible in this entire process.

 

 

What ails the Congress

In spite of Congress president’s Sonia Gandhi’s [Images] recent rally in Davangere, differences within senior leaders in the Karnataka unit of the party have come to the fore, even before the announcement of the list of candidates for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.

The most prominent feud seems to be brewing between veteran leader C K Jaffer Sharrief and former Bharatiya Janata Party [Images] leader H T Sangliana, who defeated Sharrief in the 2004 Parliamentary election.

Reliable sources in the Congress told rediff.com that the list of candidates for Karnataka will be announced on March 26. Sharrief, a four-time Member of Parliament and former railway minister, is unlikely to get a ticket from his constituency Bangalore central.

Congress has reportedly chosen to give the ticket to the coveted constituency to Sangliana — a younger leader capable of attracting more voters. He is also popular among the Christian community, which has been wary in the aftermath of the attacks on churches last year, and the Bangalore central constituency has a sizeable number of Christian and Muslim voters.

The party is hoping to lure Muslim voters with Roshan Baig, who is perceived as the new face of the minority community in the Congress.

Reports suggest that Sharrief might join the Janata Dal – Secular if he is denied a ticket. He has already started criticising Sangliana, claiming that the latter is likely to get a ticket only because he chose to vote for the United Progressive Alliance during the Trust Vote in Parliament last year.

To curb differences within the party, president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee D K Shivakumar has reportedly offered Sharrief the option of contesting from the Bangalore rural seat. But the senior leader is unlikely to take up the offer, since his major vote-bank, the minority community, has a negligible presence in this constituency.

To add to the Congress’s woes, Member of Legislative Assembly from Chintamani and party strongman Divaker has threatened to resign if K H Muniyappa is permitted to contest from Kolar constituency.

Former chief minister and party spokesperson Veerappa Moily, who is seeking a party ticket from Chickballapur, is also facing a revolt by local leaders. Congress leaders in Chickballapur claim that Moily is an outsider and have refused to campaign for him if the party grants him a ticket.

What the psephologist say?

With the general elections round the corner, every street discussion, nowadays, begins with the statements like, “Who do you think will win the elections?”

Rediff.com caught up with Sandeep Shashtri, a leading psephologist based in Bengaluru and found out what he thought would be the outcome of the general elections 2009.

“At present I see two scenarios in the forthcoming elections. The most likely scenario is that there would be a status quo at the Centre with the United Progressive Alliance retaining power. I am saying this because I don’t think that the National Democratic Alliance could do better when compared to the 2004 elections. The NDA will remain where it is and there are only possibilities of it doing better in states such as Karnataka and Gujarat,” Sandeep said.

“However this would not make a large difference to the party to boost its final tally. In the rest of the states, the Bharatiya Janata Party  has peaked and there is no possibility of it doing better than that.

If the NDA remains where it is then the UPA clearly will return to power in a similar manner in which it did during the 2004 elections,” he added. “In case the UPA fails to make it the trend is clearly in favour of the Third Front.

There seems to be a trend in favour of the Third Front in several states. I see a scenario where the Third Front comes together and forces the Congress to support it in order to form the government,” Shashtri felt. “However I do not see the Communist Party of India-Marxist playing a major part in the Third Front. Its position is clearly weakened in states such as West Bengal and Kerala.

I feel that the Third Front minus the CPM would come forward and pressurise the Congress to support it to form the government,” the psephologist said. “For the Third Front parties like the Telegu Desam Party, Telangana Rashtriya Samithi and the Biju Janata Dal would do well. These parties would make a difference in the vote share.

The battle at Uttar Pradesh will be keenly contested between Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav who are expected to put up a good showing,” he added.

Terror’s new route

Terror groups in Pakistan are under tremendous pressure to recruit more people, especially Indians, to carry out subversive activities.

Intelligence Bureau officials say that the latest directive from the Inter Services Intelligence to terror groups is to recruit more Indian nationals into the outfits. However, terror group have a problem of transporting these men into Pakistan.

The Nepal, Bangladesh and Kashmir borders have been completely sealed off and it is almost impossible for terrorists to cross over. Terror groups in Pakistan are now transporting operatives via Iran.

Once an Indian is recruited he is sent to Iran and then into Pakistan. After recruitment, a fake passport is created and the man is sent to Iran. In Iran, he is received by one of the members of the terror group. He is then sent into Pakistan for training. The two most popular routes used to transport operatives from Iran to Pakistan are the Zahedan expressway and also Iranshar area which border south Pakistan. Once the training programme is complete these operatives are sent back via the same route to India, intelligence sources say.

While terror groups have found this new route to transport terror operatives, they have found another manner in which arms and ammunition are sent into India. Fruit trucks and gas cylinders which come in from Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan are the new carriers.

But off late terror groups have been finding it difficult to use fruit trucks and hence they have opted for gas cylinders. The base plate of the cylinder is screwed to a pipe. This part can then be opened up easily and the arms put into the cylinder. The sides of the cylinder are then stuffed with cotton so that there is no rattling sound, say IB sources.

Kasab may have to defend himself in court

The much-awaited trial of Amir Ajmal Kasab , the lone surviving terrorist in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, has commenced but the problem of finding a lawyer to represent him persists.

Kasab, who was produced before the trial judge on Monday via video conferencing due to security concerns, has expressed his desire to be represented by a lawyer.

Legal experts say it is now the duty of the court to provide legal assistance to the accused. A standing counsel from the government’s panel of lawyers will have to be selected and convinced to defend Kasab.
However, lawyers in Mumbai courts have refused to take up Kasab’s case.

Kasab now has two options before him in case none of the lawyers refuse to take up his case. He could either seek a transfer of the case to another court in India or take the option of defending himself.
India’s Constitution and criminal laws have a provision where an accused — even in a trial court — could seek the option of defending himself. In terrorism-related cases, this option was last taken by Parliament attacker Afzal Guru.

Legal experts say it will be difficult for an accused to defend himself in a trial court especially when the procedures are very technical.

Former Supreme Court judge Justice Santhosh Hegde says it is the duty of the court to convince the accused to take a lawyer. The court also has the responsibility of convincing the lawyer to take up the case.

Kasab, being a Pakistan national, is definitely not aware of the procedures of Indian courts and hence in his defence he is expected to do a shoddy job. Several persons in the past who have defended themselves have used this as a defence before the appellate court. They have stated that they have not been able to understand the procedure and hence were not able to make their case stronger.

Justice Hegde says that this argument is no longer available for any accused who defends himself in a trial court. The Afzal Guru case laid a precedent regarding a similar situation, he added.

Guru argued his own case before the trial court and before the Supreme Court he complained that he was not provided legal assistance. He also argued that his case was weak since he was unaware of the complete procedure while arguing the case.

The Supreme Court, however, threw out his argument while observing that if the trial court gave ample opportunity to an accused and even suggested finding him a lawyer, then this argument was not available.

The fact that a legally illiterate accused has chosen to argue his own case does not give him the ground to argue that his case had become weaker only because he appeared party in person, Justice Hegde pointed out.

Legal experts are of the view that any lawyer who is appointed by the trial court must take up Kasab’s case since this is a matter of international ramification. The world will be watching the trial and the fact that no lawyer has come forward to defend the accused will only give the world the impression that a fair trial has not taken place.