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: PICK OF THE WEEK

* Ayodhya, 17 years later

The Liberhan Commission report was finally submitted to the Union government last week, 17 years after the demolition of the Babri masjid at Ayodhya. Set up on December 16, 1992, the commission received as many as 48 extensions.

Can there be any justice or closure after 17 years? Is it even an issue now, given that the nation seems to have moved on from that cataclysmic moment in December 6 that led to gruesome communal violence and changed the course of Indian politics? Haven’t the currents unleashed by that event run their course?

All of the main accused in the demolition case have been relegated in contemporary politics, be it LK Advani, Kalyan Singh or Uma Bharti. The BJP, which led the agitation to build the Ram temple at Ayodhya has just faced its second consecutive defeat at the hustings.

For now, the report is under wraps. The government has said that it will be tabled in Parliament alongwith with the Action Taken Report; no time frame has been given.

* Omar’s challenge

Kashmir is still tense as the Shopian controversy continues to billow. It has been followed by the agitation in Baramulla, after a woman alleged police misbehaviour, protests turned violent, and police firing made everything considerably worse. With the unrest showing signs of spreading to Anantnag and Sopore, home minister P Chidambaram is expected to discuss the security situation in the Valley with chief minister Omar Abdullah on Monday.

After its initial missteps in handling the aftermath of the crime in Shopian – the chief minister suggested that the rape and murder of two young women was actually a case of drowning — the Omar Abdullah government tried to belatedly make amends by instituting a judicial probe. It didn’t go a long way in calming tempers. Now the J&K high court has directed the state police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) to exhume the bodies of the two victims for a fresh post-mortem. The division bench has also issued instructions that no CRPF, police personnel and Special Operations Group men can leave Shopian without the SIT’s permission.

* Didi in Rail Bhavan

Mamata Banerjee’s Budget made it clear that the new Union minister for railways is clearsighted. She is clearly focused on the big prize: the West Bengal Assembly polls.