Third Grunt

Nevertheless, it is a fact that whether the front is third or fourth, it cannot be sustained without the support of either the Congress or the BJP. Why could Naidu, Fernandes and Yadav not establish their front during six years of NDA rule? I remember in those days a frustrated BJP MP lamenting to a small group in Parliament8217;s Central Hall: 8216;8216;In my own government, if I have to get any work done promptly, I must route it through Samajwadi party leaders. They are the ones pushing all the buttons on my own leaders.8217;8217;

No PIL please

Recently, Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Markandey Katju now elevated to the Supreme Court gave a strikingly candid observation about PILs. While hearing one such PIL in Delhi High Court, he remarked to the petitioner that a PIL appears to be a Paisa Interest Litigation, a Publicity Interest Litigation or at least a Personal Interest Litigation. Justice Katju is famous for his frank and scathing remarks and this time he came down heavily on the petitioner and fined him.

Truth is, the phenomenon of PIL is grossly misused. There are but a few pieces of litigation in genuine public interest; all others meet the criteria defined by Justice Katju perfectly. It8217;s time the government and Chief Justice sit together and devise a filtering mechanism for all PILs, so that only the genuine ones with legitimate and wide-ranging public interest are listed for hearing. Even I know of many people whose solitary claim to fame is to fight a series of PILs for suspect motives.

Hunting Celebrity

No amount of concern by environmental activists can blind us to the unnecessarily harsh judgment in the case of Salman Khan. In a country where murderers walk away scot-free, Salman has not only suffered the trauma of an astonishing long trial but is now facing jail for five years. At no stage do I condone the killing of animals, more so in the case of species already endangered, but it is rather baffling when killing an animal is considered heinous enough to deserve exemplary punishment, while undue benefits of doubt are extended to murderers. The Jodhpur judge has said Salman8217;s conviction is 8216;setting an example8217; but I wonder why no examples were set in recent high-profile murder cases, including those of cartoonist Irfan and Jessica Lall.

The judiciary also ought to explain why deer hunting is heard for eight long years. It is almost as if the upholders of justice derived a perverse pleasure in the constant media glare and in keeping a celebrity down on his knees. As an important side note, while Salman Khan has been jailed for killing a deer, his father Salim Khan loved deer and was once sentenced for keeping deer as pets in his farmhouse in Alibaug.

The writer is a Congress MP in the Rajya Sabha