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| India's Hindu nationalists criticise rights panel
NEW DELHI, Aug 5 (AFP) - India's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) came under attack Tuesday by the ruling Hindu nationalist BJP party, which claimed the watchdog body was acting against the interests of the country. The NHRC last week asked the Supreme Court to order a retrial of 21 Hindus acquitted over the killing of 12 Muslims in last year's Gujarat riots after a star witness said she was intimidated by politicians. BizVantage – Serious & personalized business, investment and technology intelligence for a serious advantage. The watchdog said the case should be heard outside the western state of Gujarat to encourage witnesses to testify. "This action of the NHRC is against the federal structure of the country," Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief whip V.K. Malhotra said, amid a ruckus in the lower house. "I criticised the action earlier and I still stand by it," Malhotra added. Another BJP MP said the NHRC was "anti-Hindu" and favoured Muslims. The opposition demanded the government clarify its stand on the issue and that the BJP's criticism of the NHRC -- a constitutional body -- be condemned by the house. Nearly 1,000 people, according to official figures, died in last year's Hindu-Muslim riots in Gujarat triggered by the burning to death of 59 Hindus in a train compartment, allegedly by a Muslim mob. Human rights groups put the number of dead in the riots at 2,000, most of them Muslims. pk/bp/rmj India-Gujarat
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