High Court order exposes SP’s communalism
Ideally, it would be in the national interest if the Samajwadi Party Government in Uttar Pradesh gave up its questionable quest to release ‘innocent Muslims' accused in terror cases. But communal politics and not national interest has been the driving force of the Akhilesh Yadav regime in the State. This explains the over-zealousness of the Government to seek the freedom of the so-called innocent members of the minority community. It is unlikely that the Thursday directive of the lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court preventing the State regime from withdrawing the cases against and paving the way for the release of persons from the minority community accused of terrorist activities under various Central laws, will dampen the enthusiasm of the Samajwadi Party. It has seen a window of opportunity because the High Court has also said the State Government cannot withdraw the cases without the Union Government's consent. In other words, the State regime could now pressure the Centre to take the initiative. It must be remembered that the Congress-led UPA Government survives on the crutches of the Samajwadi Party, and the latter will surely use the occasion to coerce the Centre on this issue. It remains to be seen whether the UPA regime, already on its last legs, will succumb or take the sensible position that the law should determine the innocence or otherwise of the accused persons. Unfortunately, recent instances do lead to the apprehension that the UPA may well bow before its outside supporter. After all, the Centre has been equally partisan in matters concerning the minority community. Only some weeks ago, Union Minister for Home Affairs Sushil Kumar Shinde had written to State Governments directing them to ensure that the police machinery did not harass members of the minority community. It did not occur to him that no citizen, regardless of the person being from the minority or the majority community, should be unduly harassed.
The Congress-led Union Government could also be politically opportunistic in dealing with the situation arising out of the Allahabad High Court’s order. It has seen its own minority vote-bank slowly but surely drifting away over the years, and the results of the recently held Assembly elections have reiterated the fact. In a bid to check the migration of the minority votes from its camp, the Centre could entertain the State regime's request, which will surely come sooner than later.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party's Muslim face and senior Minister Mohammed Azam Khan believes, erroneously, that there may have been some lacunae in the manner the State's law officers presented the issue before the High Court. But the full Bench is clear as daylight on the premise that the State has no business to withdraw cases against accused charged with crimes of terror which fall under Central Acts. Since it is difficult to believe that the legal department of the Uttar Pradesh Government was not aware of this elementary fact, we can draw just one conclusion from the fiasco: The Samajwadi Party went ahead despite knowing the law with the sole intention to mislead the minority community. It has done that before and failed; the party will fail yet again.