Opinion Law and justice

Describing the SIT report on the Ishrat Jehan case as “a slap in the face of the Narendra Modi government,” Rashtriya Sahara writes in its November 23 editorial: “The officers accused in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounters case — D.G. Vanjara,the DIG, and others — are already behind bars and now,following the SIT report,the Gujarat high court has ordered the filing of new cases of murder against them. Modi’s favourite officers are in the grip of the law”.

The daily Inquilab,published from Mumbai,Delhi,Lucknow,Kanpur and Bareilly,writes on the same day in an editorial titled ‘Lashon ke dher par Modi sarkar’ (the Modi government on a heap of corpses): “This is bad news for those who did not want to see the other side of the picture”. Hyderabad’s leading daily Munsif,in its November 18 editorial,describes the bail to those accused in the Malegaon blast case as a “new morning”. Meanwhile,welcoming the life sentence to 31 accused in the Sardarpura massacre case, Delhi-based daily Hamara Samaj writes in its editorial on November 11: “It is for the first time in the history of communal riots that the accused have been convicted in such large numbers. But the number of those acquitted (42) is larger. Worryingly,a large number of those with Vishwa Hindu Parishad links have been acquitted,while those held guilty are mostly villagers.”

Cracking UP

The Mayawati government’s resolution to divide Uttar Pradesh,hurriedly passed in the assembly,has come in for considerable criticism. Describing the action as “jiski laathi,uski bhains”,Shakeel Shamsi,the editor of Inquilab,writes in his November 22 column: “Such a joke should not be played by the government and the opposition on serious matters. Whether it is a matter of no confidence in the government or the issue of the state’s division,they should not be decided by a voice vote. There should be a proper discussion and a vote in the house,so that the people know who voted for and against the motion.”

Jamaat-e-Islami’s Daawat writes in its editorial on November 19: “It is interesting that Mayawati had promised a division after being elected in 2007,but she has remembered her promise on the eve of the election. What she has said is nothing new. There has been talk of small states for a while now,with claims that they allow better administration.”

Other than the drama of the state’s division,the Congress election campaign in UP launched by its general secretary,Rahul Gandhi,made headlines. Inquilab was critical of his controversial remark at Phulpur on UP citizens migrating out of the state for work. In its editorial on November 17,it says: “Such statements can make headlines,but they cannot win elections”.

The daily Munsif,however,has a different view on Rahul’s question about how long “the people of UP will beg in other states”. In an editorial on November 17,it says: “A country-wide effort is being made to create a mountain out of a molehill. If Rahul wanted,he could have raised the same question in parliamentary language. But no one would have paid any attention,far from responding — how would that serve his political objective?”

Neighbourly amity

The recent talks in the Maldives between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani have elicited positive reactions in the Urdu press. Rashtriya Sahara,in its November 11 editorial,sees “possibilities of improvement in Indo-Pak relations” and a move towards “building bridges.” Munsif,in its editorial on November 12,comments: “In these talks,an extremely important decision was taken to avoid allegations and counter-allegations. This gave a new vitality to the talks and boosted chances of success.” However,the editor of the popular Delhi-based weekly,Nai Duniya,the former MP Shahid Siddiqui writes in a signed piece on November 21: “The Congress is stuck in a swamp (daldal mein dhansi Congress ) and Manmohan Singh’s slogan of starting a new journey of friendship with Pakistan is nothing short of a gamble. It would succeed if Pakistan cooperates in the investigation of the attack on Mumbai,hands over the accused and curbs anti-India activities on Pakistani soil. But this does not seem to be happening.”