Gratis Mind

Another excellent article by Tarun Vijay. A snippet of what it is about.

Ms Priya Dutt is a Member of Parliament representing more than one voter of her constituency. As a lawmaker she has a responsibility to speak for the nation on national issues. Having considered her present turmoil borne out of brotherly affection, one has full sympathies with her. But her constituents have a right to ask whether she had ever raised the voice of terror victims or ‘innocent’ convicts who are not film actors? How many Congressmen or the self-proclaimed ‘down-to-earth champions of the proletariat’, the Communists, have ever visited the families of those slain barbarically by the jihadis ?

The day the Mumbai judgement came; a blast in a tourist bus in Srinagar killed two women and injured many. They were Indians and Muslims, and had gone to enjoy the Valley’s beauty. There was hardly a reflection of their sorrow in the papers or a condemnation for the killers. What we see is an anger against the brave and considerate Judge P D Kode who delivered a balanced yet forthright judgement which otherwise is a delayed one –thirteen years after the bloody incident which left 250 dead and 700 injured.

Who spoke for the families of the dead and injured? Priyaranjan or Kapil Sibal or Munnabhai media?

After repeated gung-ho about how changed man Sanjay is or how his life will be in jail or who is going to be his jail mate or where hes going to sh!t .. this is what the national media was busy in. I happened to watch Zee News after the judgement and the hardly-fluent-english-speaking-journalist was explaining the conditions of the jail in which Sanjay is going to be in, his jail mates etc.. Oh Yea, if you didn’t notice all the while, our dear, Munna Bhai is a changed man. You don’t believe me ? Well, No wonder As per his chat with Chota Shakeel in 2000, he was still loyal to Bhais. Wonder where his loyalities are now. Bollywood planned a national campaign in his support but it didn’t take off for the fear of backlash. So, should he be pardoned for the crime he committed some 13yrs ago Hmm.. ask the families of 250 dead and 700 injured people. I’m sure you will get an earful. Ujjwal Nikam, prosecutor rightly says the campaign is unfair.

He criticised the role of TV channels in the matter, saying, “The way they are running polls and interviews, romanticising the prisoner, is ridiculous. Why isn’t Bollywood shedding tears for the victims of the bomb blasts?”
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Meanwhile eminent jurist Soli J Sorabjee has justified six years jail sentence for Dutt and cautioned no signal of any ‘celebrity justice delivery system’ should go because of the actor’s status and the support he is getting from some Congress leaders.
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He justified the punishment awarded to the actor saying, “he didn’t have a toy gun, he didn’t have a airgun, this is a serious offence…”
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Responding to a question that public opinion was that the sentencing was excessive and unfair, the former Attorney General said “if public opinion is misinformed I will ignore it.”

“Does the public know that minimum sentence is five years and it cannot be reduced. Judge Kode would have committed an illegality if he would have given him three years,” Sorabjee said.