Criticising 1993 Mumbai terror attacks convict Yakub Memon’s execution; the Communist Party of India (CPI) on Thursday said that Eye for an eye can not be the philosophy of India’s judicial prudence.
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Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh fired the first salvo, saying that the BJP- led government should show “similar commitment” in all cases of terror as it showed in the case of Yakub Memon.
Congress leader Digvijay Singh today morning courted controversy after he tweeted that the judiciary and the government should expedite terror cases irrespective of caste, creed and religion.
“I have my doubts the way the cases of other Terror accused are being conducted”.
The remarks came in the backdrop of allegations of slowing of probe in the 2008 Malegaon case, in which right wing Hindu elements were allegedly involved.
“Saddened by news that our government has hanged a human being”.
As the hanging reignited the death penalty debate, the unseemly row was triggered after Singh said government and judiciary should display the same “exemplary urgency and commitment” in all terror cases irrespective of the religion of the accused and Tharoor commenting that “state-sponsored” killing diminishes us all by reducing us to “murderers too”.
“This incident has brought the point effectively that our country should abolish death penalty”.
“Indian authorities often find it convenient to hold up capital punishment as a symbol of their resolve to tackle crime, and choose to ignore more hard and effective solutions like improving investigations, prosecutions and care for victims’ families”, said Aakar Patel.
“There is no evidence that death penalty serves as a deterrent, to the contrary in fact”.
The governor told IANS here: “In my tweet, I have said intelligence officials should keep a tab on all, except relatives and close friends, who assembled before Memon’s corpse”.
He at the same time clarified that he was not commenting on the merits of a specific case saying it was for the Supreme Court to decide.
The BJP national executive member continued to tweet through the day, defending his stance, even as he faced a volley of angry reactions for his comments.
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Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the views were that of the leaders concerned and not of the Congress.
