SC checks menace called by pol rallies and agitation
New
Delhi,
Nov
23:
The
Supreme
Court
today
issued
notices
to
the
Centre
and
the
state
of
Uttar
Pradesh
on
a
PIL
seeking
directions
to
the
respondents
not
to
use
state
machinery
for
rallies
and
bandhs
organised
by
political
parties
or
politicians
which
caused
tremendous
hardship
to
the
common
people.
A bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, Justices R V Raveendran and J M Panchal also directed the petitioner G D Goyal to drop the names of Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati from the list of respondents.
The apex court however, directed the petitioner to implead other state governments and union territories as parties.
The petitioner earlier told the bench that such rallies are an unnecessary burden on the state ex-chequer and thousands of policemen have to be deployed to manage the crowds. Special trains are run to carry the supporters of the politicians to the venue of the rally at the cost of the government.
The petitioner has pleaded before the court that these politicians have no regard for law unless the court issued guidelineS to the government, this menace cannot be checked.
The petitioner has prayed to the court to direct the government to charge from the political parties the expences of the security arrangements and other expences incurred by the states to make arrangements for these rallies.
He also pleaded that hardship of the commonman caused by these rallies should also be lessoned. The petitioner referred to the Patna rally of Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and the Chandigarh rally of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati which was organised on October 28, this year.
He also alleged that the normal life in cities and towns where rallies are held is totally disrupted and pointed out that 56 trains were diverted for the rally of Mr Prasad.
The petitioner also contended that state or public cannot be forced to bare the financial burden of these rallies. Financial burden should be borne either by political parties or politicians concerned.
UNI