Congress demands Patnaik’s resignation over Orissa violence

January 6th, 2009 - 1:12 pm ICT by IANS

Bhubaneswar, Jan 6 (IANS) The Congress party Tuesday demanded that Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik resign over the communal violence in Kandhamal district as the Supreme Court had held the central and state governments responsible for the security of minorities.A Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice Markandey Katju and Justice P. Sathasivam had Monday said that the central and state governments should “ensure the minority’s safety”.

“The apex court’s observation is quite clear. Chief Minister Naveen Pantaik has no right to stay in power for even a minute,” state Congress president Jayadev Jena told IANS.

He added that the state government woke up to the matter only after thousands of Christians in Kandhamal, about 200 km from here, had fled to nearby forests following the communal riots.

“He (Patnaik) should resign immediately. If he doesn’t resign, the Congress will take the issue to the public,” Jena said.

The Supreme court bench was hearing a petition by Cuttack Archbishop Raphel Cheenath, seeking Christians’ safety in Kandhamal, the district that was ravaged by anti-Christian violence following the killing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his associates Aug 23.

While police blamed Maoists for the killings, some Hindu organisations held Christians responsible for the crime and launched attacks on the community. Christian organisations have repeatedly denied their involvement in the murder.

At least 38 people were killed and thousands of Christians were forced to flee their homes after their houses were attacked by rampaging mobs. Over 6,000 people are still living in government-run relief camps in the district.

Can’t allow persecution of minorities, SC tells Orissa

Can’t allow persecution of minorities, SC tells Orissa-ENS

New Delhi: Directing the Orissa Government to refrain from taking a unilateral decision while considering the withdrawal of security forces from the region, the Supreme Court on Monday observed that it was the duty of the state to protect the minorities.

“We are a secular country. And (we) cannot allow persecution of minorities,” remarked one of the judges of the three-member bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan. Justice Markandeya Katju remarked, “It is the duty of the state Government to protect the minority community. You have done that only after 50,000 people of the minority community fled to the jungles.”

State counsel K K Venugopal, however, submitted that all the earlier court orders had been complied with, to which Justice Katju, without directly referring to attacks on Christians in the aftermath of the killing of VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, said, “We will not accept the persecution of minority. If the Government is unable to protect them it should resign. We have to protect the minority. No minority community should feel insecure in the country,” the judge further observed.

The apex court in its earlier hearings had directed para-military forces to be stationed in the riot-hit areas till December-end in view of the perceived risk during Christmas celebrations. After some objections were raised on the withdrawal of forces, the Court restrained the state Government from taking any unilateral decision on their withdrawal and asked it to coordinate the matter with the Centre.

Counsel Colin Gonsalves representing the Archbishop of Cuttack Raphael Cheenath submitted that there had been a “deceptive” calm in the area after the deployment of the Central forces and also criticised the meagre compensation amount for repair of the damaged churches. The advocate argued that the State was providing only Rs 50,000 for the places of worship which were completely damaged in the fire, while the actually estimate for repair was Rs 5 to 6 lakh. Moreover, in certain cases no compensation was being considered.

The state counsel replied that the compensation was being kept on hold for certain cases of disputed land where there were issues relating to encroachment of land.

Orissa riots: SC says won't allow minority persecution

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said it would not allow "persecution" of minorities and asked the Orissa Government to resign if it was unable to protect Christians who were targeted in recent riots that followed the assassination of a VHP leader.

"We are secular country. We cannot allow persecution of minorities," a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said.

The Bench, which also comprised Justices Markandey Katju and P Sathasivam, criticised the state government for allegedly stepping in late to check the violence against the minority community after the killing of VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati on August 23, 2007.

"It is the duty of the state government to protect the minority community. You (State) have done only after 50,000 people of the minority community fled to the jungles," the Bench said when senior advocate K K Venugopal said that the Orissa government has complied with the orders of this court.

"We will not accept the persecution of minority. If the state government is unable to protect them it should resign," Justice Katju observed and added "we have to protect the minority".

Nun identifies rape suspects

Nun identifies rape suspects

IANS

First Published : 05 Jan 2009 06:18:00 PM IST

Last Updated : 06 Jan 2009 10:06:15 AM IST

BHUBANESWAR: A nun who was raped during last year's communal violence in Orissa identified two people during a test identification parade of the suspects Monday, police and officials said.

The identification parade was held in the central jail at Choudwar in Cuttack district, some 30 km here, in the presence of a magistrate, police said.

"The TI (test identification) parade was successfully conducted in the afternoon. She identified two people," A senior official of the state crime branch police told by phone.

The 29-year-old Catholic nun who had been reluctant to cooperate with the state police arrived at the jail, escorted by crime branch officials, and participated in the identification parade, he said.

At least 50 people were lined up in the jail along with all 10 suspects. The nun identified two of the suspects, the police officer said.

The nun was attacked by a mob and raped in Kandhamal district on Aug 24. She lodged a complaint with the police two days later.

She was reluctant to attend the identification parade in Kandhamal district despite orders by a local court and had earlier petitioned the high court seeking change of the venue to Cuttack.

The high court on Dec 18 had asked the state police crime branch to conduct the test identification parade in the Choudwar jail in Cuttack district.

Kandhamal district, about 200 km from here, witnessed widespread communal violence after the murder of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati and four of his aides at his ashram Aug 23.

At least 38 people were killed in the state and thousands of Christians forced to flee their homes after their houses were attacked by rampaging mobs. About 6,700 people are still living in government-run relief camps in the district.

While police blamed Maoists for the killings, some Hindu organisations held Christians responsible for the crime and launched attacks on the community. Christian organisations have repeatedly denied their involvement in the murder.