Pumpkins and Water - Melons.....

Just a couple of days before…. I was having my lunch and I saw this news – “The Supreme Court of India, convicts Sanjay Dutt for illegal possession of arms and sentenced him to five years in prison.” I look a deep breath and started thinking, - “There is still hope for Indian Judiciary. It might not be as perfunctory as I imagine it to be”. But before I could release the gasp of air that I had so happily breathed in, the news scrolls totally shook me up and dessicated me of all the good energy.

I am appalled to see how big celebrities, politicians and even commoners like us, instead of supporting the decision of the Highest Legal authority of our country, are supporting a criminal(might seem like a strong word to you, but not to me), who caused the death of so many people on that “Black Friday”. So being a responsible citizen of India, I think it’s my moral duty to speak out……

So Justice Marakandey Katju, if you are listening to me then I would like to enlighten you that currently you are the Chairman of the Press Council of India, and so you must be knowing that press can be considered as the modern Ramayana or Mahabharata that our people blindly follow. So a person like you who is in-charge of such a powerful institution should not have tried to toy with it. You were also a former Judge of Supreme Court, so you must be knowing that Law considers both rich and poor equal, both famous and in-famous as equals. Then how could you give a public statement favoring Mr. Dutt? How can you want “him” to be pardoned? Just because he has two small kids, and his parents had major contribution in the growth of Indian Cinema, can you just let such a person walk free on earth? Can you just turn a blind eye to the crime that he has committed? And the best part of your statement was that he should be pardoned because he has already suffered a lot, as he had to take legal permissions for outdoor shootings. I am really pained by the way you have blatantly showed your partisan opinion in front of the media. People died for real Katju, life and property were lost, and many were widowed, lost their sons. Real suffering is this, because Dutt never suffered. He made movies, earned awards and rolled in money. 

Now let’s see what our diva lady Rakhi Sawant had to say about it - “If there is any provision in the law, then I’d like to request the court to send me to jail in place of Sanjay. Not because he is a big actor today, but because he has a family and kids at home to take care of.” I mean seriously Rakhi, I know you pull hundreds of stupid stunts to earn name, fame and to show your presence in media, but don’t you think you have gone out of your minds by saying this in public? What about the families which were shattered because of the blast? What about the people who lost their homes? What about the kids who haven’t survived to see the light of the day? Does your heart not melt for the blast victims? Can’t you hear the mother’s still crying for their lost kids? And if every murderer, every rapist, every criminal who has a kid should be pardoned as per you so called superlative thinking, then can you imagine how safe will India become? I bet you can’t even take a step outside your house, even with security.

Our Bengal Queen also didn't stay behind. Mamata Banerjee, the Chief minister of Bengal, who has literally opposed everything and anything as far as I remember, supported Sanjay Dutt saying – “Today, I fondly remember Sunil Duttji. He used to come to my residence whenever he was in Calcutta. If he were alive, he would have no doubt made all efforts to see that Sanjay does not suffer any more. My heart echoes the same sentiments”. How can your heart echo with sentiments for a person convicted for illegal possession of arms and ammunition that led to so much blood-shed and destruction? If you want to media how much sentiment your heart can pour out, then show it to the blast-victims, who I guess can never get out of the shock – the shock that destroyed their life and changed the track of their destiny. 

And media, will you please stop portraying Mr.Dutt as a saint. I agree that he played a key role in spreading “Gandhigiri” through his movies, but hello, every single line that he said was scripted, and every action of him was directed. Had he been a true, an ardent and devout follower of Gandhiji, then he would have had followed his path of “Ahimsa” instead of stockpiling AK-56s rifles, magazines, cartridges and hand grenades. And if you believe as he said - “I had these for my self-protection”, then allow me to build nuclear bombs for my own safety. Rather I should carry missiles and grenade launchers with me instead of pepper spray. So stop showing that he has raised the dignity of the decision of Supreme Court by accepting the Jail Term imposed on him, because I know, had he been some commoner (here commoner means a person who is not a cine-star), then you people would have screamed that the punishment was insufficient. Had he been some Pakistani or Afganistani terror group member, you people would have demanded no less that death penalty, but just because he is a celebrity you people are even forgetting that his hands are colored red, soaked with blood of innocent people. 

In short people of India, I want to say is - Open your eyes and see beyond what these media people show you. Have an unbiased opinion about anything to everything, and media will you please stop showing your farce which can’t even tell the difference between a pumpkin and a watermelon.