BHOPAL, 26 November 2003 — With just one week to go for legislative elections in Madhya Pradesh, a Hindu extremist organization has begun distributing pamphlets that authorities fear may incite communal passions.
Police have arrested a few activists of the Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM) for distributing pamphlets containing inflammatory slogans but these continue to be circulated in the western parts of the state that are prone to communal flare-ups, officials said.
The pamphlet, “Jago Janta Janardhan” (Wake up, masses), contains a set of questions obviously aimed at Hindu voters.
Among these are: Why is the demand for reservations for Muslims gaining ground; why is there a separate personal law for Muslims; why has cow slaughter not been banned throughout the country; and why have Kashmiri Pandits been rendered homeless in their motherland?”
A police officer said steps were being taken to prevent the distribution of the pamphlets.
The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) faces a bruising political challenge next week when four major states hold assembly elections.
Meanwhile, the survivors of the Bhopal poisonous gas leak tragedy, the world’s worst industrial catastrophe, have been left in the lurch by the political parties contesting the state elections scheduled for Dec. 1.
The 1984 gas tragedy and its aftermath do not figure in either the Congress or BJP manifestos. This, despite thousands of survivors of the industrial disaster continuing to suffer in the very heart of the capital. BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Uma Bharti represents the Bhopal parliamentary constituency.
The track record of the state’s ruling Congress party is equally dismal, with Rehabilitation Minister Arif Aqueel constantly snubbing NGOs battling for the removal of toxic material lying unattended in the factory premises.
Several NGOs have filed suits against Union Carbide and Dow Chemicals, which has bought over the company, seeking damages for the environmental and health destruction caused by the December 1984 incident that resulted in the death of 22,146 people. Nearly 570,000 survivors are still suffering due to an indifferent government, a callous health service and meager compensation.
(Additional input from agencies)
