TODAY -
Mamata's AFSPA promise a sham: Activists
TNN | Feb 1, 2012, 04.31AM IST | KOLKATA:
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has come under friendly fire for her promise to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Manipur if Trinamool Congress is voted to power in that state.
After party MP Kabir Suman accused her of shedding crocodile tears for Irom Sharmila, rights activists - who were once government-appointed mediators with Maoists - sl
ammed her on Tuesday for making empty promises. Mamata's pledge to do away with AFSPA is little more than an electoral promise with no practical value, civil rights activists in Kolkata say.
"Mamata Banerjee has tried to woo Manipur voters with these statements but they have no practical value. When she has not succeeded in withdrawing the joint forces from Jangalmahal, how can she even think of repealing AFSPA even if she does win the mandate in Manipur?" said rights activist Sujato Bhadra.
The AFSPA is very difficult to do away with, Bhadra remarked. "The Jeevan Reddy Committee, set up to review the Act after Manorama Devi's death in Manipur, recommended repeal of AFSPA but nothing happened. Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah has been fighting to repeal the act for several years but has not succeeded. The lobby in favour of AFSPA is simply too strong. How can Mamata even consider changing the situation at her level," Bhadra asked.
On Republic Day, Kabir Suman had criticized Mamata for drawing a parallel between her 26-day fast during the Singur agitation and Irom Sharmila's epic 10-year fast against AFSPA in Manipur. "The fact is the state government neither forced her (Mamata) to break her strike nor arrested her. On the other hand, Irom Sharmila was arrested by the Army in the beginning and then she was forced to eat by using tubes," Suman wrote in his blog.
The singer-composer pointed out that Sharmila's name never once came up during Mamata's fast at Esplanade. Kabir Suman goes on to criticize Mamata's failure in withdrawing joint forces from Jangalmahal. In fact, most of his blogs in the last few months have gone against Mamata. He has written not only against the police firing at Mograhat that killed two persons but also composed a song for the farmers who have committed suicide due to debt.
Follow the link to read the entire news here
* This Post is uploaded on February 01, 2012
* Comments posted by users in this discussion thread and other parts of this site are opinions of the individuals posting them (whose user ID is displayed alongside) and not the views of e-pao.net. We strongly recommend that users exercise responsibility, sensitivity and caution over language while writing your opinions which will be seen and read by other users. Please read a complete Guideline on using comments on this website.
LATEST IN E-PAO.NET
Jump Start
DBS Imphal SubSite |
Readers Mail |
Editorials |
Education Announcements |
Essay |
Exclusive Event |
Flash - Audio Visual |
Incidents |
LFS Imphal SubSite |
News Timeline |
Poetry |
Opinion |
Sports |
Rock Concert |
RSS |
Top Stories |
Wathi Jugai