Deadly sentence

The death of seven prisoners in seven days in Tihar jail provoked Delhi High Court to order the release of 623 prisoners...

The death of seven prisoners in seven days in Tihar jail provoked Delhi High Court to order the release of 623 prisoners, booked for minor charges, from the jail. For the remaining inmates, the relief is only marginal. If this is the state of India8217;s best-managed prison, one can only pray for the inmates lodged in other jails.

Often, up to 100 people are put up in a single barrack meant for 25-odd people. There is never adequate food or water, and often inmates are forced to sleep in shifts because there is never enough space for all of them to lie down.

The jail authorities can only do so much. Tens of thousands of people booked over frivolous cases are languishing in our jails for many years, and the snail8217;s pace of our judiciary8217;s functioning makes them stay put. However, governments have begun to do their bit. Mayawati8217;s decision to release 4,000 elderly prisoners from state prisons is a positive step and I hope other state governments do the same.

Presidential disorder

Pratibha Patil is all set to become the first woman president of India this time, but her election has seen unprecedented levels of blatant casteism, mud slinging and malicious propaganda.

J. Jayalalithaa8217;s comments about Pratibha Patil are in exceptionally bad taste. Why does she consider Patil8217;s nomination a joke 8212; is it because Patil has no corruption case against her or because she does not have thousands of sarees?

Incidentally, Patil is more experienced than Jayalalithaa in politics and public administration. Patil became an MLA at the age of 25 and as a minister she held important portfolios for 17 years in Maharashtra. She has been the leader of opposition and the deputy chairperson of Rajya Sabha; she is Rajasthan8217;s governor today. Jayalalithaa just cannot match up to Patil8217;s 40 years of immaculate political career.

This presidential election reached a new low when our incumbent president A.P.J. Kalam was unnecessarily dragged by the so-called Third Front into it. The Front is merely interested in politicising the president8217;s election. I am very glad that Kalam refused to toe the Third Front line.

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The most interesting point in this whole drama is that the BJP remains the only major political party to have publicly supported Kalam8217;s re-nomination. Someone has rightly remarked that the Third Front is in fact a second front for BJP, after NDA. Having failed to break open the UPA partners, they have now tried to use Kalam8217;s candidature to score brownie points with Muslims, ahead of the 2009 elections.

The writer is Congress MP in Rajya Sabha