When somebody like a Dr Abdul Kalam spoke on issues related to morality or conscience, the entire nation paid heed to his words for such was the reputation of the gentleman, a darling of the masses and a great son of India.
But what are you supposed to do when people with questionable antecedents start dictating terms of morality to the public and espouse right and wrong?
Salman Khan sprang to the defense of Yakub Menon at the eleventh hour, tweeting that Yakub was being hanged for the crimes of his brother Tiger Memon and it is Tiger who should be paraded instead. He retracted his tweets later. But that is not the point.
Who is Salman Khan? He is a Bollywood actor convicted of killing a pavement dweller and seriously injuring three others by ramming his vehicle into them in a drunken stupor.
He also faces trial in a case for hunting the ‘Chinkara’, an endangered species. He is currently on bail in both cases without spending a single day in prison.
Then we have Shashi Tharoor who tweets that ‘cold blooded execution has never prevented a terror attack anywhere’.
Shashi Tharoor’s wife, Sunanda Pushkar was found murdered in a hotel room, poisoned to death. The investigation is still going on and one need not be surmised if the outcome of the case is decided by which political party, Shashi Tharoor decides to align with.
Another tweet of Shashi Tharoor goes: ‘Saddened by the news that the government has hanged a ‘human being’.’ Yes, a human being responsible for the loss of over 200 innocent human lives. Maybe Tharoor would have preferred that Yakub Menon be poisoned instead?
And finally, the latest champion of justice is MP Kanimozhi, daughter of Karunanidhi. She says she will move a private Member’s Bill in the Rajya Sabha to abolish the death penalty.
Incidentally, Kanimozhi has been arrested in relation to the 2G spectrum scam along with Raja and is out on bail. These then are the kinds of people who lecture society on morality and fundamental rights.
