Gujjar violence: Left says people can agitate

New Delhi, June 5: Left parties today maintained that the aggrieved people have every right to express themselves in a democracy but cannot be allowed to take the law into their own hands.

The observation comes on the heels of Supreme Court order seeking an explanation from the Police chiefs of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana on their ''inaction'' to contain violence and heavy loss of lives and property during the week-long agitation, triggered by the Gujjars' demand for the ST status in Rajasthan.

Taking suo motu cognizance of the heavy loss and damage caused to public property by Gujjars in the four states, the apex court today sought explanations from the heads of police of four states regarding action taken by them against the agitations.

CPI leaders A B Bardhan and Shamim Faizi said it seemed the Supreme Court wanted to say there should be no public agitation, whatsoever the grievance might be.

''It is desirable that agitators don't attack public properties and don't cause inconvenience to the public at large,'' the CPI leaders said.

The leaders said asking the police to always use repressive measures to curb any agitation in the garb of protecting the public property will lead to distortion of the democratic process.

They said nobody is justified in destroying public property but simultaneously it should not mean a total ban on agitations and movements.

In place of issuing notices to the police officials, the apex court should have hauled up the state governments that failed miserably to tackle the situation, they added.

On the setting up of a high power Committee by a retired High Court Judge to examine the ST status for the Gujjars, CPI(M) senior leader Mohammad Salim said, ''this step should have been taken much earlier. Before all this happened, it should have been done even as this is a temporary truce.'' Forward Bloc National Secretary G Devrajan, however, opined that the apex court has got every right to ask the states why they failed to contain violence and the measures taken by them.

''At the same time, the agitators have got the democratic and the constitutional right to rise for their demand and agitate.

But they have no right to take the law into their hands,'' he added.

On the setting up of the Panel, Mr Devrajan said this has always been the practice by the states.

The Left leaders said it was very unfortunate that a section was pitted against the other. ''Now everybody should wait for the result of the Panel.'' All the political parties, including the BJP should learn that during elections if false promises are made, agitations are bound to happen. ''Playing up the sentiments of a particular community for the electoral gains is bound to boomerang,'' they said.

The CPI leaders emphasised that to recognise the SC/ ST, there are certain cultural, linguistic and geographical criteria.

''The Commission should take all these factors into account before its final decision.'' The Left leaders said the Panel may also consider the proposal for bifurcation of the OBC list in the backward and the most backward categories. For the ''most backward'', a special category can be fixed within the 27 per cent reservation for the OBCs, they pleaded.

UNI