Yakub hanging "miscarriage of justice", says CPI(M)

Sitaram Yechury says govt is going slow in cases like Malegaon or Samjhauta Express blasts

Terming the execution of Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon as "miscarriage of justice", CPI(M) today demanded stringent action against those responsible for the 1992 riots in the western metropolis, saying these communal incidents were a "causative" factor for the blasts.

"Law has taken its course in the Yakub case. But the same determination should be shown for other cases as well to maintain unity and sovereignty of the country," CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said here.

Referring to the Justice Srikrishna Committee report on the communal riots and the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai, he said it has pointed out that the blasts were the result of the communal incidents after the Babri Masjid demolition.

The Srikrishna panel report "clearly states that the communal riots in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition were the causative factor for the blasts in Mumbai," he said.

"The report has also said that the Memon family suffered extensively in these riots. Foreign powers used them to carry out the blasts.

"Yakub was hanged because of the Mumbai blasts, but then what action has been taken against those responsible for the communal violence in Mumbai and elsewhere after the Babri Masjid demolition," the CPI(M) leader asked.

The justice delivery system must not only be impartial, but should be seen to be impartial so as to retain the people's confidence in it, Yechury said.

He charged the government with "going slow in the Hindutva terrorism cases like Malegaon or Samjhauta Express blasts or in the case of (former Gujarat Minister) Maya Kodnani (an accused in the 2002 Gujarat riots case)."

"This is not delivery of justice. ... Justice must be equal to all. If you are bringing to justice one side, the other side should not be ignored. The justice delivery system must rise above partiality," the CPI(M) leader said.

Observing that terror had no religion, he said "Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic, Indira Gandhi was shot dead by a Sikh fanatic and and Rajiv Gandhi by the LTTE. So terrorism is not confined to one religion or region."

In an editorial in the CPI(M) organ 'People's Democracy', Politburo member Prakash Karat said "the execution of Yakub Memon is a miscarriage of justice.