Opinion The Urdu Press: Parliament, Protest

The daily Roznama Khabrein, in its August 5 editorial, writes: “The government thought it would pass important bills in Parliament with the help of smaller parties. But with its actions it has given a divided Opposition an opportunity to unite. The Congress alleges that the speaker is under pressure from the government and the prime minister wants to replicate the Gujarat model in Parliament. MPs have always been coming with placards and posters. BJP members had come with bags full of currency notes and displayed them in the House… The Congress has nothing to lose and it can go as far as it likes.” Hamara Samaj, in its July 24 editorial, notes: “The demands of the Opposition are such that they can neither be ignored in the light of the Constitution nor be put on the backburner. The stubborn attitude of the BJP indicates that the Centre is trying to protect the guilty.”

An Execution
The execution of Yakub Memon was the subject of much discussion. Some newspapers published photographs of the crowd that assembled for his funeral at Mumbai’s Bara Kabristan. Inquilab, in its editorial on July 30, writes: “Until the revelations about Yakub Memon’s surrender, his faith in the judiciary, cooperation with the law, furnishing of details of the 1993 blasts… he too was considered to be like the other accused or convicted… The situation changed when these revelations were made. Therefore, there were appeals for concessions for him and there was hope that the court would consider these revelations favourably. But the apex court, which showed consideration in the case of other convicts with regard to the commutation of death sentences awarded to them by the Tada court, maintained the death sentence awarded to Yakub Memon.”

It adds: “It is clear that the country’s highest constitutional and legal institutions (including the office of the president) considered Memon’s death sentence appropriate after the necessary scrutiny. Therefore, it is the duty of every citizen of the country having faith in democratic and legal institutions to accept this judgment… It is indeed necessary to plead to the court that the perpetrators of the Bombay riots of 1992-93 should also be punished…”

There is a widespread sentiment that Memon should have been given a life sentence instead, in line with the commutation of death sentences in similar cases, in view of the circumstances in which he came to India and cooperated with investigation agencies. Some papers approvingly cited Justice B.N. Srikrishna in the context of Memon’s death sentence, where he spoke of the need for parity between the culprits of the Bombay riots and the bomb blasts. The Lucknow-based senior journalist, Hafeez Nomani, in his column in Jadeed Khabar (August 3), emphasised Justice Srikrishna’s statement that “the difference between the attitudes of the investigation and the treatment meted out to the culprits of the riots and the bomb blasts is very largely due to the state’s religious prejudice”.

Tributes to Kalam
Glowing tributes were paid to former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who passed away last month. Sahafat, in its August 1 editorial, writes: “There was never any sense of scholarly or intellectual snobbery. His style was never like that of a ruler… Despite being a scientist, supposedly isolated in his own pursuits, he was always close to the people and their welfare and development.”
Compiled by Seema Chishti