My Opinion

On Thursday, the TADA court in Mumbai sentenced two accused Tahir Merchant and Firoz Khan to death, two others Abu Salem and Karimullah Khan to life term imprisonment and a fifth accused Riyaz Siddiqui to 10 years imprisonment. One accused Abdul Sheikh was acquitted of all charges. I have one comment to make in this regard. It took 24 long years to convict criminals accused of killing 257 innocent people. Those who have been given death sentences have the options to move the High Court and the Supreme Court, and later seek clemency from the President. It is really shameful that the due process of law took such a long time to punish the guilty. Justice delayed is justice denied is an oft-quoted saying. In this case, justice has been delayed for an inordinately long period. This could have been avoided.

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Surprises never cease when one enters Ram Rahim’s sprawling ‘dera’ (ashram) in Sirsa, Haryana. India TV reporter Abhishek Upadhyay was the first to sneak into the dera on Tuesday and Wednesday, even before police and the High Court-appointed team was to enter. After careful study of the visuals of the dera, one arrives at a conclusion that there were two main faces of Ram Rahim’s dera. One: when Ram Rahim’s predecessors opened school, college, hospital, eye bank and meditation centre to provide succour to their followers, and Two: the swanky ‘wonderland’ where cheap replicas of Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal, St. Peter’s Basilica and Disneyland were erected, along with a huge cricket stadium, a shopping mall and a cinema theatre, among other such luxuries. Ram Rahim spent billions and amassed all the luxuries of life to dazzle the world, particularly his followers. He also built a mysterious cave, a place where he indulged in carnal pleasures, that included rapes and sexual assaults. In short, Ram Rahim converted an ashram doing social work into a vast, sprawling space to mint millions of rupees. Simple, gullible followers went to the dera in search of spiritual enlightenment and education for their offspring, took patients there for treatment, but were befooled in return by their guru. With the masses at his beck and call, Ram Rahim considered himself God, or Messenger of God, and the anti-climax came when the guardians of law caught up with him. He will now have to spend twenty years behind bars.

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The naming of Lashkar-e-Taiyyaba, Jaish-e-Muhammad, Haqqani network, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and sundry other terror groups operating from Pakistani soil in the joint declaration adopted at the BRICS summit recently in Xiamen, China, is another blow to Pakistan’s image on the world stage. But it needs to be pointed out here that the very same terror groups were named identically in a similar paragraph in the Amritsar declaration issued at the Heart of Asia Conference last year, soon after the Uri attack. And the signatory to that declaration also included Pakistan. If one compares the two declarations, the paragraph on terrorism looks almost identical. Nevertheless, terror outfit leaders in Pakistan are worried over Pakistan’s “all-weather friend” China not backing its “trusted” neighbor on the issue of terrorism.

Not only terror outfits, but most of the Pakistan media have now begun to worry over the dent in the country’s image. It was only three weeks ago that Pakistan had been crowing about its friendship with China during the Doklam standoff. The Pakistani media was singing hosannas to Sino-Pak friendship, and the Pakistani leaders were expecting China “to teach India a lesson”. But the situation has changed 360-degree within a span of 24 hours. Chinese President Xi Jinping seems to have realized that this is not the India of 1962 which can be browbeaten by shrill war cries.

The Chinese leadership has begun to accept that India’s cooperation was necessary if their nation wants to dominate world economy. If terror outfits are a threat to India, they cannot be angels towards China. Chinese President Jinping has spoken about the Panchsheel principles of peaceful co-existence, but India will have to be on its guard.

There is an oft-repeated observation among Indians that Chinese products are normally neither reliable nor durable. So is China’s policy towards India. On one hand, it issues the joint declaration against Pakistani terror groups and on the other hand, China refuses to acknowledge Masood Azhar as a terrorist.

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In her explosive interview on my show Aap Ki Adalat (telecast Saturday 10 pm), film actress Kangana Ranaut has hit out at Bollywood biggies in a manner which normally film stars avoid. You will be surprised to know that Kangana spoke for nearly 40 minutes about Hrithik Roshan and disclosed several details, hitherto not known. To be fair, if Hrithik desires to reply to Kangana’s questions, he should also appear in Aap Ki Adalat to put the record straight. If he thinks he had been fair, he should come forward and reply to Kangana’s charges. This is what honesty demands.

Kangana has also hit out at Bollywood heavyweight Karan Johar in my show. Karan had hit out at Kangana several times on television, through social media, and on stage shows. At times, he made fun of her English diction, her rise from an obscure village in Himachal Pradesh to the tinsel world of Bollywood. I would also publicly request Karan Johar to appear in my show Aap Ki Adalat and reply to Kangana’s charges if he has the courage. Is it Kangana’s fault that she has no godfather in the film industry? That she does not hail from a ‘big’ family? Is it is her fault that she comes from a small village? Is it her fault that she did not study in a reputed English medium public school? Kangana replied bravely to all these questions, by winning laurels from the public for her superb acting in superhit films like ‘Queen’ ‘Tanu Weds Manu’. Kangana proved to the world that she could become a star on her own by making her films click at the box office.

The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday in its annual report disclosed that 99 per cent of demonetized currency notes returned to the bank’s post demonetization, and only one per cent, amounting to nearly Rs 16,000 crore did not return. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley sought to clarify that only these unreturned currency notes were not black money. Nearly Rs 3 lakh crore currency notes came back to the banking system, and along with this nearly two lakh shell companies were traced. Most of these currency notes were black money being held by shell companies. Jaitley also explained that another big benefit of demonetization was that 56 lakh new taxpayers have joined the tax net. The real motive behind demonetization was (1) bringing black money back to the banking system (2) expanding the tax base and (3) switching the economy to digital mode. According to Jaitley, on all these three counts, the objectives were achieved.

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The stunning revelation made by IG India Reserve Battalion K K Rao about a diabolical plan hatched by Gurmeet Ram Rahim to escape from Panchkula court minutes after he was convicted, speaks volumes about the criminal nature of the fake godman. It was clear that Ram Rahim knew he would be convicted by the court, he had asked his men to store firearms inside the vehicles, had brought goons in his cavalcade, and had planned to escape, taking advantage of the bloody mayhem that would have ensued. He could have then posed a big challenge to the establishment, but his plan was nixed in the nick of the time by alert police officers like Rao.
I would also praise retired CBI officer Narayanan who diligently investigated both the rape cases, gave confidence to the rape survivors and ultimately justice prevailed. Narayanan revealed how he was literally forced by political leaders to weaken the case. It exposes the rot that has set in our system. The fake godman was clearly reaping benefits from politicians by offering them support in elections. That is why Ram Rahim was cocksure he would not land in jail because of his ‘high’ political connections. But he was proved wrong. The Punjab and Haryana High Court was very much alert, along with the media this time, and the Special Judge of CBI court did not give him any leeway.
The most surprising thing in the entire sordid episode is how fake godmen like Ram Rahim manage to fool gullible devotees despite committing heinous crimes. He was literally robbing them in the guise of faith. He was using his devotees as shields and was goading them to carry out bloodshed. The irony is: even if one fake godman is exposed, another godman crops up and starts fooling gullible people. The saddest part is that eminent spiritual leaders in our society fail to prevent such fake godmen from engaging in nefarious activities. They are unable to create awareness among the people. This is a work which no government nor any government official can perform. It is the responsibility of spiritual and religious heads. It is the responsibility of the entire society, which includes all of us, including the media. It is only then can we prevent fake godmen from carrying on with their business in the guise of religion and faith.
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On Monday, the CBI court’s special judge sentenced Gurmeet Ram Rahim to a total of 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment for raping two female devotees more than 15 years ago. But this seems to be only the tip of an iceberg. I interviewed Ram Rahim’s former manager Khatta Singh and a former sewadar Gurdas Singh Toor live on television, and what these two ex-employees revealed was chilling. One feels sad and also angry on listening to such revelations. A fake godman rapes his female devotees, intimidates them and carries out forced abortions. One wonders how this baba can carry out such crimes in the guise of religion. The two ex-employees revealed how the fake godman had a gang of killers with him, they had code words assigned for specific acts, the hospital which he was running ostensibly for social service, was being used as a den to castrate his male devotees. The fake godman used to pay off the parents of his rape victims, and those who refused, were put to death. Is Ram Rahim a human being or a demon? Twenty years of imprisonment are nothing considering the gravity of his crimes. I hope more rape survivors would come forward to testify against the fake godman, who must get the punishment he truly deserves.

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A rape survivor gets justice after fighting a powerful self-styled godman for 15 long years. At last, the real face of Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been exposed in the CBI court verdict. The baba will go to jail and serve his sentence, but the sad part is that thousands of his followers are so much blind and superstitious that they are unable to accept that their fake godman is a rapist. These followers have now turned to arson and lawlessness, throwing normal life in Haryana, Punjab and other neighbouring states in disarray. So long as these gullible followers live in our country, fake babas like Gurmeet Ram Rahim will continue to fool them.

In the wake of widespread arson committed by the baba’s followers in Haryana, Punjab and Delhi, questions are now being raised over Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s role.

The first question: why was such a huge crowd of over one lakh supporters allowed to assemble in Panchkula? Everybody knew what these supporters would do if the baba was convicted, they had swords, arms, diesel, petrol and lathis with them. This was not a marriage party. It was a crude show of strength by a powerful self-styled godman. Police and paramilitary forces were present, but the arsonists carried on their work with impunity, only because they were numerically stronger and were well-prepared. The chief minister must answer this question.

The second question is directed towards the supporters who had assembled to defend a rapist. Till yesterday, these supporters were claiming that their baba has taught them lessons of love and brotherhood, but the moment the judgment was announced, they resorted to stoning and arson. It is a crying shame that thousands gathered to support a rapist and created a reign of terror. Justice demands that the losses caused to properties by these hooligans must be compensated by attaching the properties of the billionaire self-styled godman.

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West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has ordered a 24-hour halt to immersions of idols of Goddess Durga this year due to Muharram. If one sees this in the light of similar orders in the past, it does not seem to relate to law and order at all. Last year too, Vijayadashami took place a day ahead of Muharram, and Mamata Banerjee had then halted the immersion of idols. Her order was criticized by a single bench of Calcutta High Court headed by Justice Dipankar Dutta, which described the order as ‘arbitrary’ and a “clear endeavour to appease the minority section of public”. “To put it straight, the State government has been irresponsibly brazen in its conduct of being partial to one community, thereby infringing upon the fundamental rights of people worshiping Maa Durga”, the High Court had observed. It is now clear that Mamata Banerjee wants to appease the Muslims and wants to consolidate her vote bank. But the chief minister should know that creating a wedge between Hindus and Muslims for petty political gains does not portend well, either for West Bengal or for the rest of India. People of both communities have the right to celebrate, but imposing unreasonable restrictions is unfair.

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There can be no lame excuses for negligence resulting in train accidents. It was Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu’s tough luck that these accidents on the tracks occurred one after another within a span of three days, but I will appreciate Prabhu for taking moral responsibility after the two rail accidents and offered to resign. I somewhat feel Prabhu overreacted by becoming too sensitive. If one looks at Wednesday’s rail accident near Auraiya, a dumper stuck on the rail tracks caused the accident. How can a minister be held accountable for that? Similarly, in the Utkal Express accident near Muzaffarnagar, it was caused by negligence on part of the Section Railway Manager. Despite several requests, the SRM did not give permission to halt rail traffic for carrying out urgent track repairs. And yet, Suresh Prabhu took moral responsibility for this. In the past, Lal Bahadur Shastri has taken similar moral responsibility after a train accident during Pandit Nehru’s regime, and resigned. Suresh Prabhu, by resigning, has set standards of accountability, and as, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, ‘accountability is a good system in the government’.

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The historic verdict by the Supreme Court has given Muslim women the long-awaited freedom from the 1,400-year-old curse of triple talaq. For years, I have been listening to the travails of Muslim women, who were living a life of fear lest their husbands utter the dreaded word ‘talaq’ thrice. Most of these women did not raise their voice against this practice all these years out of fear. Their only aim was to ensure that their husbands do not get angry. Their second worry was about ‘halala’, wherein if a husband utters ‘talaq’ thrice and then realizes his mistake, his wife would have to sleep with another man and then obtain talaq in order to remarry. One cannot understand the pain behind this dreadful practice, but today Muslim women are now free from such fear. They have now been empowered by this historic verdict.

Political interpretations of this landmark judgment have already begun. Some politicians have begun saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may now get the support of Muslim women. Whatever the interpretations are, the fact is that this verdict will bring a big change in the lives of Muslim women. They will be empowered and their contribution to the creation of a New India will increase. One will have to agree that PM Modi and his government have played a major role towards that end.

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Today, 22nd of August, 2017, shall be written as a red-letter day in the history of Indian judiciary, as well as for all Muslim women fighting for equality and empowerment, as a five-judge Constitution Bench of Supreme Court, by a majority 3-2 judgement, struck down the practice of ‘triple talaq’ as unconstitutional.

There were five judges on the bench, including Chief Justice J.S.Khehar, who belonged to different faiths – Hindu, Muslim, Parsi, Christian and Sikh. Justice Rohinton Nariman, Justice U.U.Lalit and Justice Kurien delivered the majority judgement striking down ‘triple talaq’, while outgoing Chief Justice J.S.Khehar and Justice Abdul Nazeer gave the minority judgement calling for a Central legislation to replace ‘triple talaq’. The five judges had been hearing various petitioners for the last three months. The majority verdict clearly said that ‘triple talaq’ practice was violative of Article 14 that grants fundamental right of equality before law.

Muslim women in India have been suffering for centuries because of the abominable ‘triple talaq’ practice, that has already been abolished by more than 22 Islamic countries, including Pakistan and Bangladesh. They have been petitioning the government and courts seeking justice. At last, the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has heard their voice and advocated their cause before the Constitution Bench. Past governments had been wary on this issue because of the votebank politics since the powerful Muslim ulema had been opposing any tinkering with Muslim Personal Law.

With today’s verdict, Muslim women will now be able to empower themselves. There have been umpteen cases in which Muslim men in India had given ‘triple talaq’ to their wives through WhatsApp, Skype, telephone and even telegram. The long-suffering Muslim women can now heave a sigh of relief.