NEW DELHI, 24 November 2006 — Stormy scenes from agitated legislators led to the adjournment of both houses of Parliament yesterday without any businesses being transacted. Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena deputies demanded the death sentence of Mohammed Afzal, who has been awarded capital punishment for the 2001 Parliament attack, to be carried out immediately.
He was to be hung on Oct 20, but his punishment was stayed following the filing of a mercy petition to the president. Chanting “Hang Afzal,” BJP and Shiv Sena members trooped into the well of the House. They demanded that Afzal should be immediately sent to gallows without any mercy. Waving placards, newspaper clippings and chanting slogans, the BJP-Shiv Sena members also accused the Congress-led government of being soft toward the minority.
Samajwadi Party (SP) members also targeted the Congress but for a different reason. Accusing the Congress of “murdering democracy” in Maharashtra, SP members raised slogans and entered the wells in both the Houses. The SP demanded the release of legislator Abu Azmi, who was arrested in Mumbai for staging a rally despite ban orders. SP members also blamed the Congress of trying to oust the Mulayam Singh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh. While SP is an external supporter of the Congress-led coalition at the center, the two (SP and Congress) do not enjoy cordial ties in either UP or Maharashtra.
At first Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee adjourned the Lok Sabha till 1115 hours, but when pandemonium rocked the house again, it was adjourned again. Similarly, at first the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for an hour and later for the day, when opposition party members continued to created uproarious scenes on the Afzal’s death sentence issue.
After both the houses were adjourned, BJP leader V.K. Malhotra accused the government of showing leniency to a terrorist who wanted to wipe out the Parliament, the entire leadership of the country. “It is unfortunate,” Malhotra told reporters, adding that the government could not justify any further delay in Afzal’s execution.
Meanwhile, addressing the three-day Annual National Conference of Director Generals and Inspector Generals of Police, organized by the Intelligence Bureau, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid stress on the need to speed up police reforms. Manmohan emphasized the need for “a first rate police force — a more skilled, competent, effective, just and humane police force.”
“India needs,” Manmohan said, “A police force that not only ensures the rule of law but is also viewed as fair, efficient and honest and able to meet the democratic aspirations of the people.” Criticizing terror groups for trying to spread communal violence, Manmohan asked the “police force and security establishment to remain steadfast in their commitment to preserve and protect communal peace and harmony as therein lies our inherent strength.”
As terror in India is no longer confined to Jammu and Kashmir, Manmohan emphasized: “Our security apparatus must be alert and resilient enough to meet the grave threats posed by terrorism to our polity and society.”
In another development, the Supreme Court yesterday gave temporary protection to over 18,000 traders and professionals from the sealing drive.
This covers the ones who have been found by the Monitoring Committee to have complied with the undertaking given by them to stop misuse of residential premises for commercial activities.
They will have to comply with the Sept 29 order and will file an affidavit by Jan. 31, 2007 that they will vacate the premises if the Delhi laws (Special Protection Provisions Act, 2006) and the two notifications were declared invalid.
