मुसलमान कुछ भी करें, यह कहें, सब चलता है

मुसलमान कुछ भी करें, यह कहें, सब चलता है, कानून केवल हिन्दुओं केलिए है
A day after digging in his heels by reiterating the insinuation about the hand of Hindu radicals in the killing of Hemant Karkare, Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad chief, AR Antulay dismissed party leadership's threat of marching order as Union minister as insignificant in an eventful career, deepening the party dilemma on the possible way out of the controversy. After a brainstorming on Saturday, the Congress core group, which includes the leadership and the troubleshooters, was clueless on how the party could stamp its authority in the Antulay controversy. Antulay, who had conveyed his refusal to retract his remarks on Karkare's killing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in private, went public with his defiance on Saturday. Addressing a gathering of Waqf administrators, Antulay asserted that he was only afraid of God and none else. While he said this in a different context, it was seen in the party leadership as amplifying his refusal to take back the remarks which many in Pakistan have gleefully seized upon to counter India's foolproof case against the involvement of ISI-supported Lashkar-e-Taiba in the Mumbai attacks. Considering that the government has promised Parliament that it would spell out its stand before the current session ends on Tuesday, the next 48 hours are going to be agonizing for a Congress leadership having to balance fear of an adverse fallout among Muslims of a punitive action against Antulay, with the risk of loss of India's credibility internationally and erosion of its own authority. The public belligerence put paid to any hope of Congress leadership that the Maharashtra veteran would yield, helping the party come out of the bind it has been pushed into by the minority affairs minister. Any backtracking by Antulay would have undermined his credibility, leaving the leadership to take action against him without having to worry about the political consequences. But with Antulay not concerned about the sack order, the party is hamstrung by the political costs of a punitive action in the face of a chord the minority affairs minister has struck with the Muslim community. The leadership is also coming under pressure from different sections within, who feel that Congress can reinforce its "secular" credentials by going soft on Antulay, given Karkare's role in exposing the alleged role of Hindutva radicals in the Malegaon blasts of September. The view came out when AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh told reporters in Varanasi that Antulay had done no wrong in "asking for a probe which is already underway". Digvijay Singh's statement, dubbed by leadership as "personal", comes only a day after Antulay presided over an across-the-partyline "secular" mobilisation in his favour in Parliament. Even junior home minister Shakeel Ahmed questioned the argument that Antulay had given a propaganda point to Pakistan. He retorted, "It should be probed if his statement was harmful for the country or the distortion by the media." The polarisation and statements have not gone down well with the Congress leadership, especially the defence and foreign ministers, as they feel it has created a problem just when India is mounting a global pressure on Pakistan to crackdown on the jehadi tanzeems that ISI and clerics have raised to target India. Sources said supremo Sonia Gandhi, PM Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, AK Antony among others could not pick a possible solution after discussing the issue on Saturday. A cornered party brass seems to be resiling from the threatening posture of "retract or resign" it held out while distancing itself from Antulay, when the drama erupted three days ago. Now, the party managers are looking for a face-saver in a flimsiest possible concession from the former Maharashtra chief minister. Anxious insiders feel if Antulay could modify his stand even slightly, the party could hold it up as a course correction and put a lid on the controversy. The government does not have much time as it has to "clarify" to Parliament by Tuesday, when the two Houses wind up business in this session. Given the Muslim dimension and Lok Sabha polls, Congress may be left to work in isolation from Antulay, who was rehabilitated three years ago after a long exile following corruption charges to head the freshly-carved out Union minority affairs ministry. If no retraction or modification comes, the government may simply assert in Parliament that the Mumbai attacks were authored-executed by Pakistani fidayeens, who also killed Karkare, and there was no need for an inquiry. While it would rebuff Antulay's demand, it would also save the consequences of sacking him
कांग्रेस असमंजस में , कुछ भी सूझ नही रहा है, पढे

The fate of Minority affairs Minister A R Antulay continued to hang in balance as Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday grappled with the mess arising out of his controversial remarks on the killing of Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare. The meeting to resolve the situation caused by his remarks raising questions over the circumstances surrounding the killing of Karkare by Pakistani terrorists in Mumbai ended without a decision and the government's position is expected to be made clear in Parliament before it winds up business for the session on December 23. The hour-long meeting of the Congress Core Group at the residence of the Prime Minister is believed to have gone into the pros and cons of the matter but there was no official word on whether his resignation was being accepted. Opposition BJP and Shiv Sena having been gunning for Antulay's removal from the Cabinet accusing him of compromising the country's position vis a vis terrorism emanating from Pakistani soil. "No decision has been taken. The position will be made clear in the session of Parliament concluding on December 23," said a senior leader who declined to be identified. Meanwhile, Antulay, who has resigned in the wake of a political storm over his remarks and the opposition demand for his removal from the Union Cabinet, received rare support from his party when AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh saw nothing "objectionable" in the minister's statement. "Antulay has been misreported. What he has asked for is a probe which is already on. What is objectionable in his statement," Singh told reporters in Varanasi. The Congress, however, had in the last two days distanced itself from Antulay's remarks saying they were his personal views. Singh said the BJP, VHP and RSS had raised doubts about the integrity of Karkare because he was investigating the Malegaon blasts in which Hindus were arrested. Against this backdrop, Karkare was killed in the terrorist attack in Mumbai and it was "natural" to think that whether he was murdered. "But this possibility appears to be low because the course of events minimises it. Antulay has said the matter should be investigated that who ordered him (Karkare) to go there. What is objectionable in that," Singh said. Two Muslim MPs from Uttar Pradesh — Ilyas Azmi of BSP and Rasheed Masood of Samajwadi Party —backed Antulay's demand for a probe into Karkare's and wondered why a hue and cry has been raised over that demand.