Why still politicking over Karkare!

It is difficult to say when the Congress party leader Digvijay Singh ceases to be a rationalist and secularist, and when he becomes a politician. However his remarks are extremely important as they provide the leads to further investigation as well as a fresh judicial process into the matters related to terrorism and fake encounter. At times he lets out clues so easily that he is walking a tight rope as when he said that he never doubted the inquiry into the killing of Hemant Karkare, the Anti Terrorist Squad chief killed during the November 26 2008 attack on Mumbai nor asked for any fresh inquiry. These are seemingly contradictory remarks that trap the politician in him.

What he told The Indian Express on Friday December 11, 2010 is crucial in importance “On November 26, 2008, at 7 pm, just about two hours before the attacks in Mumbai started, Hemant Karkare, the slain ATS chief, rang me on my mobile and told me how his family and his life were blighted by constant threats from people annoyed by his investigations into the Malegaon blast.” A similar statement was also reported by the Indian Express reporters who interviewed Karkare what turned out to be his last interview as he was leaving for Delhi on November 24, 2008.

Does “people annoyed by his investigations into the Malegaon blast’ mean only the Hindu extremists like the people in RSS, BJP, Shiv Sena? At least Karkare’s widow Kavita and Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam seem to believe that. Even so the new revelations do not militate against that assumption. As to pointing finger at what has come in vogue as saffron terrorism should not cause any more consternation after the arrest of Lt Col Shrikant Prasad Purohit, Sadhvi Pragyasingh Thakur, Swami Asimanand, Swami Dyanand Pandey as well as the mysterious death of RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi, and the still absconding from law of Ramsingh Kalsangrah and Sandeep Dange who planted the bomb in Malegaon in 2008 and believed to be behind Samjhauta express attack in 2007. That had killed seventy Pakistanis and injured many more aboard the good will train between the two neighbours as they were returning to Pakistan after visiting India . Even after Wikileaks into the matter what could one make of "Such statements [by Digvijaysigh] will mislead people and benefit Pakistan”?

The mystery that shrouds the murder of Karkare and others with him bodes ill for the facile ultra nationalist bandwagon which was baying for his blood and no sooner was he killed than they turned to singing paean in his honour. Why were they breathing down his neck ever since Karkare arrested the Hindu extremists involved in Malegaon bombing of 2008? Even the former deputy prime minister of India LK Advani wanted Karkare to be replaced, not to speak of the itching for revenge against Karkare of the extremist Hindu parties including Shiv Sena. Can we take the people of India to be so gullible that they would forget all these despite the politicking that is still going on in the name of Karkare’s assassination?

David Mulford’s memo of “Congress played religious politics after Mumbai attack” [PTI, December 11, 2010] is as revealing contextually as the British High Commission’s secret memo on Gujarat pogrom of Muslims. The American ambassador to India wrote on December 23, 2008
"The Congress Party, after first distancing itself from the comments (of Antulay, the then minority affairs minister), two days later issued a contradictory statement which implicitly endorsed the conspiracy. During this time, Antulay's completely unsubstantiated claims gained support in ... Indian-Muslim community."

But Mulford erred in one respect, Antulay as well as Kavita did mention the last call Karkare received on his mobile. He was told to go to Cama hospital while PC Hasan Gafoor had already asked him to proceed to Hotel Trident. The crime branch headed by Rakesh Maria who is now ATS boss did not want to reveal this even to Kavita. Even the widow of another slain police officer Ashok Kamte, Vinita Kamte, had had so much of difficulty in getting the phone records! Why so much of hush up with the widows of the martyred fellow police officers of repute? It is not only the Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar who should ask the home minister of Maharashtra to clarify the matter but the people of India.