Once the Supreme Court announced the commutation of the death sentence of three persons convicted for the murder of former PM Rajiv Gandhi from death to life imprisonment, the Tamilnadu government took no time in making a political killing by announcing that it intended to release all seven persons convicted in the case, raising questions about Jaylalita's political motive of this critical decision. Her decision was largely hailed by the Tamil people and the partisan political parties across Tamilnadu, including Jayalalithaa's arch rival M Karunanidhi.
But Jaylalita's announcement has raised questions in national political circles including by the Congress party, when the party vice president and son of former PM Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul questioned, "The prime minister ( Rajiv Gandhi) gave up his life... (but the) prime minister does not get justice," and he further added, "If someone kills the prime minister and he is released, how will the common man get justice?"
Rahul Gandhi said though he was against the death penalty, but felt upset that they have been released. He asked, "We abide by the decision of the Supreme Court, but why release them at this juncture? Of the seven people who have been released by the Tamilnadu government, three were not on the death row, why did they not release them before? Why now?"
Activist Tirumurugan Gandhi who had pushed for the release of the convicts said that this was justice, "For 23 years people have been trying for their release. They did not get a proper trial. You don't have proper laws in India. Nothing happens to Jagdish Tytler, or Sanjay Dutt, then why not these people. What happened to Jagdish Tytler?" He further argued that the LTTE were not terrorists and said, "The LTTE are not terrorists. The Supreme Court said that the killing of Rajiv Gandhi is not a terrorist act."
Former CBI director Dr Karthikeyan, who was part of the investigation in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination chose not comment on the politics of the issue and said, "I have no comments to make because the decision was taken in the realm of politics. More than the LTTE I had to protect my case from politics. We produced evidence and three judges heard the investigation and sentences was given. Now what they do is a political decision," .
Meanwhile more questions from different directions arose on the confusion over the death sentence in India, as while Rajiv Gandhi assassin's are going to be released, but recently Afzal Guru was hanged uninformed, and that prompted the lawyer Shabnam Lone to say, "I agree with the judgement. Technically you might say what Jayalalithaa has done is a political masterstroke."
She said,"I am not saying what Afzal Guru did was right. However, what you have done with Afzal Guru is unpardonable. At the same time people equally placed with Afzal Guru have been pardoned,". Lone questioned the political move by saying, "This will leave a feeling of discontent among Kashmiri's because they will be feeling they have been wronged. It portrays that the life of someone from southern India is more precious than people from Kashmir."
INDIA HONEST observes that a gradual downgrading change has come in the Indian politics,ever since the time the dominance of regional parties has been increased in central politics, but how far this had been helpful in greater well beings of the regional population is not known.
Yes, one thing is for sure, it has cracked our boasted ideology of unity in diversity, for India as a nation. The Congress has made many lapses in fast few decades, but the most blundering one is the adjustments made on principles for the sake of opportunistic power politics, which has played havoc with our basic preambles of federalism.