Indian minorities minister has the last laugh
* Govt says no conspiracy, Antulay says no apology
* Opposition walks out against minister whose stance made him hero in Pakistan
By Iftikhar Gilani
NEW DELHI: Indian Minority Affairs Minister Abdul Rehman Antulay was neither sacked nor made to apologise for his controversial remarks that the killing of Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare in last months terror attacks must be probed.
The Indian parliament ended its session on a bitter note, with both the Houses seeing repeated adjournments because of opposition uproar. Taking advantage of the pandemonium, members from the Left underscored a nationwide insurance workers strike, and the government pushed through nine bills without debate.
A cheerful Antulay the 79-year-old former Maharashtra chief minister taunted the BJP-Shiv Sena combine they would have to touch his feet to seek his resignation from the government or touch the feet of the prime minister to sack him.
I am more loyal to my country than the people who accused me of being anti-national. If I am Pakistani, no one is loyal. I am not an ISI agent. My loyalty for my own country cannot be questioned. I am a Muslim but an Indian first. Neither I, nor any Indian, will doubt that Karkare was killed by the terrorists, Antulay said.
My doubts are cleared and hence no need of further probe, he told reporters, rushing out of the Parliament House after Home Minister P Chidambaram partly read and then tabled a statement on behalf of the government in the lower House, Lok Sabha, because of the chaos. The same statement was later laid in the upper House, Rajya Sabha, amid similar chaos.
Chidambarams statement that there is no truth whatsoever in the suspicion that there was a conspiracy to eliminate Karkare or others prompted Antulay to assert that he had never talked of a conspiracy. He rejected a suggestion that he was retracting his earlier remarks to help the Congress that is unable to sack him as a minister because of the vote bank politics.
Opposition leader Lal Krishna Advani, who was given a copy of Chidambarams statement in advance in line with the parliamentary practice, accused the government of violating its promise that it would make a statement on Antulays comment.
He led an opposition alliance walkout in protest against protecting a minister who is taking a stance that made him a hero in Pakistan. But the BJP and Shiv Sena members returned shortly afterwards, shouting slogans and creating a chaos that forced Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to direct Chidambaram to read the statement and adjourn the House.
The BJP was angry at the indirect dig the minister made on Advani and other party leaders questioning Karkares probe into the September 29 Malegaon bombing. Its spokeswoman Sushma Swaraj told reporters her party would honour its staunch opponent Karkare because he had become a martyr.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan