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Sparing Rajeev Gandhi killers from the gallows

February 18, 2014

The Supreme Court commuted the death sentence of three men convicted of killing former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to life in prison, rejecting the government’s view that an 11-year delay in deciding their mercy petition was not agony for them. The convicts, Santhan, Murugan and Perarivalan, can also walk out of jail if the Tamil Nadu government grants them remission, the court ruled. The decision is a politically motivated one and ahead of the General election, due by May. The court did not accept the government’s view that the convicts did not deserve mercy. Tuesday’s verdict follows the Supreme Court’s January 21 order commuting the death sentences of 15 convicts, announcing that “inordinate and inexplicable” delays in carrying out executions were grounds for reducing their original punishment.

Santhan, Murugan and Perarivalan were convicted in 1998 for Rajeev Gandhi’s assassination by a woman who greeted him with a garland and a bomb strapped to her chest during a rally in 1991. Their mercy petition was sent to the President, the last stage in the process of appeals, in 2000 and was rejected 11 years later. Their hanging was stayed in 2011 on the orders of the Madras High Court. That year, the Tamil Nadu assembly had passed a resolution urging the President to grant mercy to the convicts and consider “Tamil sentiment.” The ruling that the state government will decide whether to free them has inevitably taken a political turn.

The three convicts are locked up in individual cells between 6 pm and 6 am ever since they were lodged in Vellore Central Prison in 1998. Keeping prisoners in introverted imprisonment was a severe punishment as they would not be able to ventilate their feelings by way of interacting with others. Considering the steep rise in the number of psychological problems among prisoners, the Tamil Nadu government had appointed qualified psychologists in all prisons. The State Health Department had directed all psychiatrists attached to the DMHP to visit prisons once in a fortnight and provide treatment to the needy. He said prisoners suffering separation from family, friends and the society and those subjected to solitary confinement were likely to develop mental illness.

The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi occurred as a result of a suicide bombing in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, in Tamil Nadu, on 21 May 1991. At least, 14 others were also killed. It was carried out by Thenmozhi Rajaratnam, also known as Dhanu. The attack was blamed on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist organisation from Sri Lanka; at the time India had just ended its involvement, through the Indian Peace Keeping Force, in the Sri Lankan Civil War. Subsequent accusations of conspiracy have been addressed by two commissions of inquiry and have brought down at least one national government. Rajiv Gandhi was campaigning for the upcoming elections. On 21 May, after successfully campaigning in Visakhapatnam, his next stop was Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. About two hours after arriving in Madras (now Chennai), Rajiv Gandhi was driven by motorcade in a white Ambassador car to Sriperumbudur, stopping along the way at a few other election campaigning venues. When he reached a campaign rally in Sriperumbudur, he got out of his car and began to walk towards the dais where he would deliver a speech. Along the way, he was garlanded by many well-wishers, Congress party workers and school children.

At 22:21, the assassin, Dhanu, approached and greeted him. She then bent down to touch his feet and detonated an RDX explosive-laden belt tucked below her dress.

Gandhi, his assassin and 14 others were killed in the explosion. The assassination was caught on film by a local photographer, whose camera and film was found at the site though the photographer himself died in the blast. Don’t forget that Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination came at a time when the Indian state was facing its worst-ever period, even an existential crisis. Many enemies of the state and their foreign collaborators were hyperactive in 1991 in trying to dismember India; but we know nothing about this, thanks to our media’s relative blindness on such issues.

Perarivalan did one mistake. The conspirators gave him (he was just 19!) money and told him to buy them batteries, which he did. He did not know who they were or what their intentions were. For this, he lost the best years of his life and his health. He was brutally tortured during the investigation in those years. Those police officers are still being held in high regard. Meanwhile, Rajeev Gandhi’s assassination is a bit mysterious, no one has been punished. With our government commuting the death sentence previously awarded to the terrorists who plotted the death of Rajiv Gandhi, we are setting up a dangerous precedence which would encourage other anti-national elements and terrorists to commit more heinous crimes against the citizens of this country. Is this move meant to condone the activities of the LTTE or is it aimed at trying to garner a few votes from Tamil Nadu for the UPA, one is tempted to ask. However, no Indian with self -respect can forget the way our sentiments were betrayed by the Lankan Tamils when the assassinators killed Rajiv Gandhi and two thousand army personnel in the 1980’s. What about the families of the victims, who waited for decade to see the culprits hanging? It was not their fault that justice has been delayed. Who will provide justice to them?

Moreover, if the Supreme Court has commuted the death sentence on the ground of delay in deciding on the mercy petition then what is the accountability of the president who was putting the decision in cold storage? Moreover, along with Rajiv, some 15 innocent people had lost their lives. Who will give them justice? Agreed, these three convicts have suffered a lot in jail and that too in solitary confinement but they had committed a brutal crime. However, the atrocities done by Sri Lankans in the war and post war were genocide with the help of Indian Army. Who was responsible for that?

A landmark legislation

Afternoon Voice

February 18, 2014

Belgium has become the first nation to permit euthanasia for terminally ill children of any age. The landmark legislation was passed by the lower house of parliament. Anyway children who are in their imaginary world of fairy tale will never understand the concept of suicide. Of course, euthanasia is quite a dramatic issue to debate as the decisions are made by heart and emotions and instead of using brains. Some parents are pleased with the legislation while some others are not happy with it as it doesn’t resolve the issue. Which parent would like their children to die?

In a statement preceding the upper house vote in December, the Community of Sant’Egidio, a Catholic movement of lay people, said it expressed concern that sick people, especially the young, may choose to die as they don’t want to become a burden for others. But how would a child even realise whether he or she would become a burden for others. Instead their expectations from their parents would be high.

Since childhood, children are taught to fear about death and most of them don’t even know about it. In such circumstances who would take the decision pertaining to mercy killing? No doubt a child suffering hazardous pain and illness like chemo, aids, cancers etc won’t be aware how his or her phenotype is under attack.

On the other hand, what if parents are fully ready to support and go that extra mile to let their child live an abnormal life. Even though children stay with parents but they become a burden on them.

Once again how can anyone allow their child to undergo unbearable pain when there is no relief and death is certain anyway?

Of course, young children may not understand about this issue but do you? Do you become smarter just because you are old? If a child has been suffering with no end in sight, why shouldn’t he be allowed to take a decision about his life? I hear about parents ask children to undergo endless treatments so that the former don’t feel guilty. Maybe the child is tired of the bearing the pain.

Also why should parents lose their lifetime savings and see their child undergoing relentless pain dying a slow death that seeps through their body steadily taking them away?

Tips to Brighten up your smile

Afternoon Voice

February 18, 2014

It is often said that if you smile, the world smiles right back. This holiday season, perhaps the most important thing you can wear is your smile. Here points out the dos and don’ts of keeping your smile at its sparkling best and dazzle everyone at the party.

Brush and floss daily: Everyone knows that we need to brush our teeth twice and floss daily, but you’d be surprised at the number of people who don’t follow this advice regularly. While brushing, don’t forget to scrape your tongue to remove any food residue stuck in its folds or taste buds.

For people with braces, crown bridges, diastema (space between their teeth) or periodontally compromised teeth (excessive gap between gums & teeth) should utilise special interdental toothbrushes, which are specially designed for these conditions.
Snack right: While healthy foods help you avoid unwanted weight, they are also beneficial in maintaining oral hygiene. Munching on a stick of celery, carrot, or an apple cleans sticky food off your teeth. Chewing on parsley and mint leaves acts as a deodorizer. It increases the flow of saliva in your mouth, washing away bacteria that cause bad breath.

Don’t drink: Drinks are an inseparable part of any party, especially in the North. You should, however, avoid aerated drinks (diet included), black tea or coffee, and red wine, as these cause teeth stains. Drink water instead – it doesn’t stain; it rinses away any food stuck in your mouth and also keeps you well hydrated.
Fluoride Mouthwash: Mouthwash with high alcohol content can actually worsen bad breath. Instead, choose to rinse your mouth with a few drops of peppermint oil mixed in water. Chewing on sugarless candy/gum causes salivation, which washes bad bacteria away.

By Dr. Rashika Vijan

(Writer has been practising dentistry since the past decade. She is also known as the dentist of choice for celebrities like Vivek Oberoi, Ashish Choudhary and Upen Patel to name a few. She also practises Paediatric Dentistry at her dental clinic, Dr. Rashika Vijan’s Dental Studio in Bandra. )

Telangana bill passed in Lok Sabha amid TV blackout

Afternoon Voice

February 18, 2014

In an unprecedented move, live telecast of Parliament proceedings was stopped as the Lok Sabha passed the controversial bill that seeks to create a Telangana state by dividing Andhra Pradesh.

The bill was passed unanimously, with the support of the main opposition BJP, but the party says it was not aware of the TV blackout.
Speaker Meira Kumar told that the telecast was stopped due to a problem. “There was a problem, so we couldn’t show the live telecast,” she said. Her staff said it was a technical problem. The remarks did nothing to end speculation about the controversial blackout.
The BJP’s Sushma Swaraj, who is the Leader of Opposition in the house, said she was not aware that the telecast had been stopped. The party, however, did not walk out of the house and stayed to pass the bill.
“It is daylight murder…the murder of democracy. The Speaker is acting as an agent of the Congress. More than 50% of the house is at the Well. They should have suspended the entire house and passed the bill,” said a TDP MP who was stopped from entering the house. All entrances to the visitors’ gallery were also shut.
The government distanced itself from the blackout. “Such things keep happening. I have been around for 40 years,” said Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, who presented the bill for discussion amid protests in the morning.
The Left and the Trinamool reportedly protested inside Lok Sabha over the manner in which the bill is being taken up for passing. “Today democracy has been killed in spirit,” said Trinamool member Dinesh Trivedi.
Lagadapati Rajagopal, the expelled Congress MP who used pepper spray on fellow parliamentarians in the Lok Sabha last week, said he had decided to resign and quit politics.
Anti-Telangana politicians in Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh vowed to move petitions in the Supreme Court against the new state.They have also called a shutdown.
Celebrations erupted among pro-Telangana politicians in Delhi and Andhra Pradesh who cheered and distributed sweets, but those against the new state slammed the “undemocratic manner” of the bill’s passing.
Unusual security arrangements had been made for the Telengana bill discussion in Parliament after Mr. Rajagopal’s pepper spray act. Lawmakers had to walk to the Parliament building this morning with the main entrance blocked for vehicles. Their bags were checked and they were barred from filming videos or taking photos in the house. Riot police were deployed.
Politicians from the Seemandhra region of Andhra Pradesh, including Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, oppose the bifurcation; Seemandhra is worried about a smaller share of water, power and revenue from Telangana once the new state is created. The Chief Minister will resign tomorrow, say sources.

Black day in history of country, says Jagan Reddy

Afternoon Voice

February 18, 2014

Slamming the way the contentious Telangana Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha, YRS Congress leader Jaganmohan Reddy said on Tuesday that it was a ‘black day’ in the history of the country.

Talking to the media in the national capital, Reddy said that the bill was passed undemocratically. “We were not let in the House. The bill was passed undemocratically.”

“The way the proceedings took place, it showed as to how democracy could be killed. This is a black day in the history of the country,” he added.

He also said that the YSR Congress was planning a bandh in Andhra Pradesh.

Jagan Reddy’s YSR Congress is against the creation of a separate state of Telangana and has been protesting for a united Andhra Pradesh.

Narendra Modi targets Sonia, Rahul with ‘fake Gandhis’ barb

Afternoon Voice

February 18, 2014

Tearing into the Congress, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the party has been left without any belief and ideals ever since ‘fake Gandhis’ took over the reins from Mahatma Gandhi.

Apparently referring to Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, Modi said, “A Congress leader says Congress is a thought. When Gandhi ji was alive that time it was so, but after fake Gandhis came, the party was left in thought.”

Addressing a massive rally – 2.5 lakh people as per party estimates – Modi said that the Congress leaders are adept in “coming out of a pond without getting drenched”.

“A Congress leader came to Karnataka recently and he said that there is no high command in the Congress. The whole party is in the hands of the one family. The whole country knows from years that there is not a trace of democracy in the Congress. They don’t have any trust in democracy. For them democracy has only one meaning and that is to capture power at all costs,” he said.

“I wonder why Madam Sonia and Rahul ji come to the south. They don’t have the time to go to Andhra Pradesh. People of Seemandhra and Telangana need to be healed, but the Congress, which has given them wounds, doesn’t have two kind words for them,” he said.

“It was the people of Andhra Pradesh who gave them power at the Centre but they can’t speak even two words for them. Politics can’t be this hard-hearted,” he added.

Referring to the continued ruckus in Parliament over the Telangana Bill, he said, “What is happening in Parliament? Who is creating the chaos? Even Ministers are creating chaos in Parliament.”

Rubbing it in, Modi said, “They don’t care for the common man, should we care for such a Congress? Should they be punished?”
“Now Congress can’t be dealt with small punishments. That’s why if we have to save the country, if we have to care for the future of the country, then there is only one mantra and that is to free the country of the Congress…it is such a disease that grows very rapidly and destroys the country,” he said.

“They think only they have ideas and we are empty headed. They should look within before they make such allegations,” Modi said.

“A Congress leaders says India is a honeybee, our belief is that India is our mother. Your idea is that poverty is a state of mind; we believe that service of poor is akin to serving God. The PM says money doesn’t grow on trees, our belief is that money grows in the fields and farms and grows in strength with the sweat of farmers,” he said.

SC commutes Rajiv Gandhi’s assassins death sentence to life imprisonment

Afternoon Voice

February 18, 2014

In a major relief to three condemned prisoners in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, the Supreme Court on Tuesday commuted their death sentence to life imprisonment, holding that the 11-year long delay in deciding their mercy petition had a dehumanising effect on them.

A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam said that the delay was not only inordinate but also unreasonable and unexplained.

The court said that life imprisonment would mean life in jail till end.

The bench, also comprising justices Ranjan Gogoi and SK Singh, rejected the contentions advanced by Attorney General GE Vahanvati on behalf of the central government.

The court said that though there is no time limit given in deciding the mercy petition by the President, but it was incumbent upon the government to decide the same at the earliest.

It rejected the Centre’s submission that there was no unreasonable delay in deciding their mercy plea and the condemned prisoners did not go through agonising experience as they were enjoying life behind the bars.

The bench said they are unable to accept the Centre’s view and commuted the death sentence of convicts – V Sriharan alias Murugan, AG Perarivlan alias Arivu and T Suthendraraja alias Santhan – to imprisonment for life subject to remission by the government.

It asked the Centre to give timely advice to the President so that mercy petitions can be decided without unreasonable delay.

“We implore the government to render advice in reasonable time to the President,” the bench said, adding that “the executive should exercise its power one way or other in reasonable time”.

It said the government should handle the cases of mercy petitions in a more systematised manner. “We are confident that mercy plea can be decided at much faster speed than what is being done now,” the bench said.

While rejecting the government’s contention that it was incumbent upon the death row convicts to prove that they have suffered torture and dehumanisation during the pendency of the mercy petition, the court said there is nothing in Indian law and international law that puts the burden of proving torture and dehumanising condition on the death row convicts.

Gandhi was killed in 1991. His assassins were convicted by a TADA court in January 1998 and were awarded death sentence, which was confirmed by the apex court on May 11, 1999.

The three assassins sought the commutation of their death sentence to life imprisonment on account of the inordinate delay of nearly 11 years in deciding their mercy petitions.

The bench had reserved its verdict on February 4.

Ganges full of deadly ‘superbugs’: Study

Afternoon Voice

February 18, 2014

In May and June when millions of pilgrims throng Rishikesh and Haridwar in Uttarakhand to take holy dip, levels of antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’ have been found 60 times greater than other times of the year, shows research.
After studying water samples taken from the upper Ganges river, experts from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi (IIT-Delhi) and Newcastle University, Britain, revealed that the spread of antibiotic-resistance to one of the most pristine locations in Asia is linked to the annual human pilgrimages to the region.
“This is not a local problem – it is a global one,” said Professor David Graham, an environmental engineer from Newcastle University in Britain.
“We focused on pilgrimage areas because we suspected such locations would provide new information about resistance transmission via the environment,” he added.
The specific resistance gene called ‘blaNDM-1’ causes extreme multi-resistance in many bacteria, therefore, it must be understood how this gene spreads in the environment.

By comparing water quality of the upper Ganges, the team showed that levels of ‘blaNDM-1’ were 20 times higher per capita during the pilgrimage season than at other times.
Monitoring levels of other contaminants in the water, the team showed that overloading of waste treatment facilities was likely to blame and that in many cases, untreated sewage was going straight into the river where the pilgrims bathe.
“The bugs and their genes are carried in people’s guts. If untreated wastes get into the water supply, resistance potential in the wastes can pass to the next person and spiralling increases in resistance can occur,” the researchers warned.
“If we can stem the spread of such antibiotic resistant genes locally – possibly through improved sanitation and waste treatment – we have a better chance of limiting their spread on larger scales,” contended Grahem who has spent over 10 years studying the environmental transmission of antibiotic resistance around the world.
The concern is growing worldwide over the threat from bacteria that are resistant to the so-called ‘last resort’ class of antibiotics known as Carbapenems – especially if resistance is acquired by aggressive pathogens.
The research team are now calling on governments around the world to recognise the importance of clean drinking water in their fight against antibiotic resistance.

Excise dept wants BJP to pay tax for Narendra Modi’s rallies

Afternoon Voice

February 18, 2014

In what could turn into a major issue in the political season, the department of central excise has pulled up the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for non-payment of service tax on the money earned by sale of tickets during rallies by Narendra Modi.

The Ludhiana regional unit of Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) has issued a notice to the Chandigarh unit of the BJP seeking an answer on the matter.

Citing government rules, the DGCI has argued that the BJP has to pay tax on the tickets as political rallies don’t fall under the category of “amusement and entertainment”, which get tax rebates.

“Recently it was in news that Bhartiya Janta Party has collected amount by way of tickets for entry to the rally at different places in India where Mr. Narendra Modi had addressed the public at large,” reads the notice.

“As the entry tickets to the event were not for any admission to any entertainment event or access to amusement facilities (which are in the negative list) the same is taxable in the hands of the person collecting the amount of tickets. It appears that the BJP/Shri Narendra Modi has neither got registered under the Service tax nor paid tax on collection from tickets,” the notice says.

The notice, dated February 12, has sought a response from the BJP within ten days of receiving it. The BJP should intimate the details of amounts collected and service tax paid, if any, the notice reads.

Expectedly, the BJP has slammed the move. Party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “ The government of India is so very worried that it has become mentally bankrupt in its hatred for Narendra Modi,” adding that it is beyond comprehension why the Ludhiana unit of the excise department sent a notice to the Chandigarh office of the BJP when no rally was held there.

No Class 8 school boys debate with Narendra Modi: P Chidambaram

Afternoon Voice

February 18, 2014

I don’t want to take the level of this debate to a Class 8 school boys’ debate, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said dismissing criticism of his interim budget by Narendra Modi.

“What does he mean by a decade of decay? The fact is that we are delivering growth above the trend growth rate. I have pointed out that the growth rate in 1999-2004 was below the trend growth rate.”

“In the last 33 years, the last decade (under UPA) has been the best decade for growth. Now these are facts. Now he (Modi) likes fake encounter with facts. I don’t think the media should join and repeat his tweets,” Chidambaram told.
He was asked about Modi’s reaction to his interim budget yesterday calling it “a final act of misery after a decade of decay.”

The BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate had tweeted: “The only solace one gets from the vote-on-account is that this was UPA’s final act of misery after a decade of decay & policy paralysis.”

When asked about the other comment of Modi that it was “upto the people to decide whether the Economist PM & FM have been ‘hard working’ or ‘hardly working’,” Chidambaram shot back, “I don’t want to take the level of this debate to a Class 8 boys’ debate.”

Chidambaram and Modi have been locked in a war of words over economy. The Finance Minister was critical of Modi’s knowledge of economy when he said it can be written on back of postal stamp.

Asked about this comment, the minister said, “What he (Modi) had said on that day betrayed a lack of understanding and therefore I used that phrase about writing on the back of a postage stamp.”

“But if he articulates himself, then we can engage him in a debate. If a person refuses to spell out his views on economics, what else can you say.”

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