'The Seeds Of Partition In Its Womb'

The BJP and the Sangh Parivar have made a scathing attack on the NHRC dubbing it as an attempt to"damage" India's image, and warned the watchdog against "crossing its mandate". VHPGeneral Secretary  Praveen Togadia went to the extent of saying the move carried "the seeds ofpartition in its womb" and demanded the retrial of all killings in Jammu and Kashmir over the past onedecade.

BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu said the move was aimed at damaging India's image and attempt to defameGujarat. "There has been no such precedent. It will set a precedent." Party general secretaryMukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the NHRC action was "only for the sake of publicity" and it would"vitiate the communal atmosphere" in the state. "We wonder at whose behest the NHRC isacting," he said.

The RSS charged NHRC with "indifference" to the killings in Kashmir, Kerala and West Bengal, andasked the body "not to cross its mandate." "The NHRC should not cross its mandate," RSSspokesman Ram Madhav said.

An apparently angry Togadia said from Ayodhya, "Muslims are demanding a separate judicial system now.Tomorrow, they will demand a separate country." "In India, conviction in murder case is only 6-7 percent and failure for conviction in most cases is evidence turning hostile. Are we demanding retrial in allmurder cases in which accused have been acquitted?" he asked.

The Gujarat government maintained a silence even as the Opposition Congress welcomed the decision." Icannot comment anything on the matter till I receive necessary documents pertaining to it", state LawMinister Ashok Bhatt said when contacted.

Bhatt said he would have to consult lawyers before giving any statement as it is a judicial matter.

Congress corporator from the Best Bakery area, Chandrakant Srivastav alias Bathhua said that he wants theguilty to be punished and had no objection to NHRC filing a petition seeking fresh trial in the case.

He claimed that he had saved Zaheera, her mother and other members of family when the bakery was set onfire.

Shrivastav said he wanted Zaheera and her mother to be tried for lying before the court.

Bathus was against punishing 21 accused in the case acquitted by the court after proper trial "as allof them are innocent".

Welcoming the NHRC move, leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Amarsinh Chaudhary said, "I hadearlier demanded that this (Best Bakery) and other cases be tried outside Gujarat and also necessaryprotection be given to witnesses".

Yasmin Sheikh, wife of Best Bakery owner, criticised NHRC's move and said over phone from Chhotaudepurtown, that all the 21 accused acquitted by the fast track court were innocent.

The NHRC said it had moved the Supreme Court as only the Apex Court can take a decision on shifting thevenue of the trial from one state to another.

NHRC chairman A S Anand told reporters that if a retrial has to be conducted within the state then theGujarat High Court could pass such an order but if it has to be in other state then the Apex Court alone hasthe right to take such a decision.