Who does not want release of Dr

Who does not want release of Dr. Rajkumar?

"What a dumb question?" – you may wonder. Of course everyone wants the release of Rajkumar. No, not quite so. There are lot of people inside and outside Karnataka who don’t care for the release of Rajkumar. This may sound little absurd and shocking for Kannadigas, but that’s the truth.

If you are still unconvinced, please read on.

The insiders factor:

There are some people within karnataka who either out of personal vendetta or some other reason, say that they are not concerned about his release. Here are some of their arguments:

In what way Rajkumar or his family has helped Kannadigas?
Why should he have gone to the farmhouse without police protection?

Recently there was an email floating around with arguments and counter arguments about this topic. It amply proved the fact that not everyone is aboard – when it comes to supporting the release of matinee idol.

Kannadigas need not be concerned about a selected few, but show solidarity in getting the release of Dr. Rajkumar.

The outsiders factor:

On the other hand, the non-kannadigas have not shown any interest in the whole issue. Scene this:

If either Dilip Kumar or MF Hissain were kidnapped – every Muslim and non-Muslim would have taken to the streets from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. They would have rioted and demanded that the Central government step-in and resolve the crisis. They would have knocked the doors of the President and Prime Minister to help.

Why aren’t they concerned now? Didn’t people of Karnataka show support to Kargil crisis? Didn’t we cheer the Indian cricket team in the games? Aren’t we contributing to the GDP in a big way? Then how come the center government and others are so callous about the crisis?

One simple answer is that – we kannadigas are supposed to give and not ask for any help from anyone. We don’t stand a chance compared to the more vocal neighbors. Our politicians don’t demand the fair share whenever we need. We vote for National parties and they take votes and go back to Delhi never to return.

So, it’s natural that the outsiders are not really concerned.

The Judicial Jigsaw:

One of Veerappan’s apolitical demand is -the release of his men from the jails of Mysore, held under TADA. This has brought Supreme Court of India into the picture. While the kith and kin of those officers and civilians killed by the forest brigand have right to seek justice, the challenge to the release of the criminals and subsequent refusal by Supreme Court to accord the release, have further pushed the hostage crisis to unsolvable situation.

Here are some observations made by the Supreme Court:

Why the state governments of either K or TN do not place at least 2 policemen at the farmhouse during the visit of Rajkumar?
How can the states be negligent about his security while being aware that he is in danger of being on the hit list of the brigand?
Why did the state governments so negligent not to make serious attempts to catch the forest thief for 10 long years?
How come 1600 square kilometers of our own territory turned "Incommunicado"?
How does the emissary Mr.Gopal establish contact whenever he wants while the police are helpless?
What is the guarantee that the brigand is going to release Mr. Rajkumar if the TADA detainees are released? What if he comes up with another list of demands?
How did the two states define "Public interest"? How can the lower court, the Public Prosecutor and two state governments "hoodwink the law" and did not apply their mind in resolving the crisis?
Was Article 321 - grossly misused in this case?
How to trust the governments and its advocates when they have reacted in panic at every demand of Veerappan?
Finally, if something happens to Rajkumar should the blame be attributed to the States or the Supreme Court?

These observations by the Supreme Court are very valid. But unfortunately, these have come at a wrong time. The situation warrants a great deal of understanding by the highest court. It is true that the police machinery and state governments have failed utterly in catching the thug, but that discussion should happen at a different time. So far the two states – going by the news reports have done a balancing act, by keeping the doors of communication with the brigand open - keeping the release of Rajkumar as the highest priority. But these efforts are still inadequate, as the crisis has entered into 80+ days.

We need Supreme Court to help us, at this juncture to get the release of Rajkumar. We all are concerned at the turn of the events, but Kannadigas have shown highest degree of restraint and respect to the law of the land.

But we feel we are let down by the highest court at our hour of crisis.

We need Supreme Court to send Lalloo Yadavs, Jayalalithas and Narasimha Raos behind bars.
We need Supreme Court to checkmate Medha Patkars, Arundhati Roys, Deepa Mehtas and Shabana Azmis – who under the disguise of fighting for the poor and needy – only oppose our development and prosperity. These champions of humanity don’t have any regard for the poor, except that they want to be in the headlines of news -everyday. They make cheap movies and expose Indian women in the name of liberation.
We need Supreme Court to show that another state can’t meddle in the affairs of its neighbor – the case in point is Allmatti Dam.

Here is the short news report that appeared a while ago.

During the last week of August - six pilots (all from former Soviet Union) convicted for dropping arms into the villages of Calcutta – were released in the midnight and sent back to Russia in a special plane. These foreigners were caught red handed in the famous "Perulia arms drop" case some 4 years back. How did they see the light of day even though they didn’t file for parole or amnesty?

That remains a big mystery – even Supreme Court doesn’t comment about. The Government of India on request (or threat) from the Russian President Mr. Vladimar Putin - moved the papers and the President gave an executive order to release the pilots. This was neither brought to the notice of the Supreme Court nor challenged in the courts.

So, you see – there are situations, we let criminals go scot-free. The killers of model Jessica lal are still roaming in the streets of Delhi. The courts have failed to convict a youth (son of some powerful politician) - in the gruesome killing of a girl student of Delhi University. The politician-criminal nexus is the root cause of many ailments prevailing in our society.

Tailpeice:

As the crisis hits the 3 month mark - many questions are being asked about the efforts to involve professional team to get the release of Rajkumar.

The damning the state governments got by the Apex court speaks volumes about the lethargy shown by the previous governments in capturing a simple thug. The "pan-tamil" activists are actively establishing their contacts building vast networks. This could be a de-stabilizing factor for south India and especially for Karnataka.

We need to constantly fight for our rights and remind the leaders of our state, regarding the grave injustices meted out Kannadigas In our own land.

Only then we will see justice served.

Siri Gannadam Gelge