Failure to protect minorities
HINDU families under attack and fleeing their homes in different districts before and after the January 5 election are in a state of panic. It is shocking that the outrage had taken pace despite a substantial deployment of security forces in areas identified as potential flashpoints.
Who's largely to blame for this disastrous situation, if it's not the Election Commission (EC)? Being in charge, along with the proper conduct of the election, its overall responsibility was also to ensure security, especially, in the vulnerable areas.
We were told that the EC had identified different areas as vulnerable for special reasons and that it was adequately prepared to face any eventuality. But the attacks on Hindu families in some parts of the country do not in any way speak well for EC's preparedness, nor for its capacity to tackle emergency situations efficiently. And that makes the failure more poignant as we have a sad history of targeting minorities before and after elections.
Surprisingly, the local administration, too, failed badly as the law-enforcers made inordinate delay in responding to the victims' appeals for help. How will it explain this callousness?
The government also cannot shirk its responsibility for not moving quickly to restore confidence among the minorities. The incidents demand an immediate enquiry to identify both, the culprits involved and why the agencies failed to respond promptly.
It is just not enough to institute cases against unknown persons. The culprits must also be ferreted out. We want action and immediately at that.
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