Let us then release Ajmal Kasab too!

Rajiv killers must face the gallows, otherwise, fight against terrorism will lose its meaning. We would be harbouring many more Ajmal Kasabs.

Death is always a painful topic. The three Rajiv Killers - Perarivalan, Murugan and Santhan at the Vellore Central Prison are at the verge of facing the gallows on Sep 9. Peraraivalan's mother Arputhammal has launched a crusade to save her son. It is indeed sad to see the elderly woman running from pillar to post.

Diehard LTTE fans Vaiko, Ramadoss, Nedumaran, Thirumavalavan, Seeman and others are trying out everything possible to save the trio and thereby get political gains. Vaiko is spearheading the save 'innocent Tamils' campaigns. Ramadoss and Thirumavalavan are talking about 'Gandhi Desam'. Perarivalan is creating websites and launching booklets from prison.

But, for me, the entire episode is puzzling.

The trio have indulged in an act of terrorism that shocked the entire world. By killing Rajiv Gandhi, these people virtually launched a war on India's sovereignty in 1991. Their role in Rajiv assassination has been proved beyond doubt with clear evidence by the CBI. And, it has been accepted by the courts in four rounds of litigation & appeals.

LTTE chief Prabhakaran himself admitted that Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by them. K Padmanabhan, in an open interview to CNN-IBN confirmed it recently.

But, the 'super CBI' Vaiko says the trio are 'innocent'. Cinema Director Seeman says that Perarivalan is facing the gallows just for buying a battery. Is the Indian Judiciary so dumb and cruel to award death penalty for buying a battery? He bought the battery knowing fully well that it was going to be used to kill Rajiv.

Perarivalan had been an active supporter of the LTTE since 1989 and he had worked closely with the Rajiv assassins and helped them knowing fully well that they were going to assassinate Rajiv. He had connived with the assassins and helped running the wireless communication between LTTE HQ and Rajiv assassins. Perarivalan's name finds mention in many of the letters written by LTTE men to Prabhakaran.

The CBI investigation has revealed that without Nalini, Murugan and Santhan, Rajiv assassination would not have taken place at all. The special investigation team led by respected IPS officer D.R Karthikeyan has said that they did not resort to third-degree punishment to secure statements from the accused.

Moreover, the CBI investigation team did not have any enmity with Perarivalan. Why should they arrest a 19-year old Engineering diploma holder and accuse him of being party to killing Rajiv Gandhi? Are they all mad? When the CBI had charged 40 other persons, who should they fabricate the case against Perarivalan?

The Supreme Court has awarded the death penalty for the trio considering the gravity of the situation and the nature of the crime. Only in the 'rarest of rare' cases, death penalty is imposed in India. Only in cases where the crime is proved beyond doubt, do the courts award capital punishment. Even in Rajiv assassination, the court has imposed the punishment only on three out of the 26 accused. Not on all of them.

These people have killed not only Rajiv Gandhi, but also 15 other innocent men and women. Mohammed Iqbal, the then Superintendent of Police of Chengalpattu was among those killed. I am not including the suicide bomber Dhanu and the photographer Haribabu, who were party to the assasination. In addition to the killing of Rajiv and others, the Sriperumputhur incident has created lifelong suffering on many others.

Vaiko, Ramadoss, Thirumavalavan, Seeman, Nedumaran and others are talking about 'Human Rights' and 'Humanity' only in the case of Rajiv assassination. They have all turned sudden supporters of abolishing capital punishment. What do we do with Ajmal Kasab and Afsal Guru then? Release them?

Why Ramadoss and Thirumavalavan, who are now talking about 'Gandhi Desam', kept mum when Prabhakaran went on killing innocent people and Tamil leaders?

If we are to release the Rajiv Killers, we must abolish CBI immediately thereafter. No investigation is required on any crime.

Supporting our brethern, the unfortunate Tamils in Sri Lanka is different and supporting LTTE is different. And, supporting Rajiv killers among the LTTE is very different.

The 'save 3 innocent tamils' campaign itself is a threat to the sovereignty of the Nation. Those who support this are terrorists at heart as long as they support these terrorists. Those who support the campaign to save the trio are mocking at the Indian judiciary. The campaign is anti-democratic and contemptuous. Already, a big mistake has been committed by commuting the life sentence of Nalini, who now tries all tricks to come out of the prison.

Playing 'Tamil card' and 'Humanity Card' in this act of unprecedented terrorism is ridiculous, malicious and dangerous.

If the Government fails to execute the trio, the Congress will lose its right to rule the country.  At a time when the country is suffering a lot on account of terrorism, releasing the trio is a crime against the Nation.

If the lives of Perarivalan, Murugan and Santhan are precious, the lives of other people are still more precious. The country is fighting corruption. Terrorism is still more dangerous. If we help the trio escape the gallows, many will start indulging in terrorism with the hope that they could get away with that. India will become a safe harbour for world terrorists.

Above all, LTTE took pride in calling itself as a disciplined outfit, whose members did not fear death. As disciplined disciples of Prabhakaran, the trio should be brave enough to face death. They must accept their crime and face the gallows boldly. If you do so, I will salute your bravado.

Arputhammal, sorry, civilised Nation cannot show sympathy for the crime committed by your son. Death is painful, anyway!

Chennai - an unlivable city & a choking hell

Chennai has lost its glory, heritage and legacy. Exploding population, high rural-urban migration, traffic snarls, water scarcity, ineffective sewage and drainage facilities, contamination, pollution, high cost of living have all turned this city into a choking hell now.

Chennai city is celebrating its 372nd birthday today and everyone is feeling ecastatic, turning nostalgic. But, I am in no mood to celebrate, as the city has turned unlivable for the commoners, the vast majority. I am at a loss to understand the reason for celebrations, as the city has totally lost its heritage and legacy.

The density of population is abnormally high even in the outskirts; space availability is on the decrease; infrastructure facilities are abysmally poor (except a few pockets); unplanned and haphazard growth everywhere and to cap it all, severe traffic snarls everywhere. All these have turned the city into a nightmare. The 372-year old city is totally unlivable and I wonder what is there to celebrate.

Traffic is the biggest nightmare in this city, that makes one exhausted even before reaching the office. Commuters are virtually at the mercy of arrogant, uncivilized and undisciplined auto, share-auto, bus and truck drivers. Chaotic traffic, which gets worse every passing day, is certainly making life a hell. Number of vehicles continue to grow at an exponential rate, but road space is constantly on the decrease. Appalling road conditions compound the problem. Traffic police have become totally helpless and silent spectators of the congestion.

Commercial establishments and business units are allowed to mushroom in residential areas, making lives of people horrible. Cars and two-wheelers are parked on roads, without any road sense.

Open spaces have become sparse to find - children do not have space to play. Civic sense is utterly lacking as city cleaning works have taken the backseat - streets are filled with garbage and plastics. No one can afford to keep the windows open as Mosquitoes rule the roost. I have not spoken anything about the rainy days. If I start to write the woes of Chennai during monsoon, that will fill volumes.

Renting even ordinary dwellings has turned a luxury. Still worse, most of the house owners are behaving like the ceremonial kings and treat the tenants as their slaves and humiliate them. While even the middle-class is struggling to cope with the rising costs, I can't even imagine the plight of the have-nots.

Even at home, people feel highly insecure as instances of thefts, robbery, looting and even murders for petty gains have become casual happenings.

Exploding population, high rural-urban migration, traffic snarls, water scarcity, ineffective sewage and drainage facilities, contamination, pollution, high cost of living, hostile neighbours have all turned this city into a living hell. Chennai might have been a charming city two or three decades ago, but it is a choking hell now.

Of course, we, the people should take the blame. Even the mightiest Government cannot make Chennai livable in the near future. Reverse migration through a suitable decongestion plan is the need of the hour. Through tax concessions and sops, the Government should encourage business units migrate to tier 2 and tier 3 towns. This requires determination and political will from both central and state governments through proper policy initiatives. 

For me Chennai life is a cursed life. If I get an opportunity to move out of this hell, I would be the happiest person on the earth!