Yashwant tweets after son says he was “only honouring due process of law” in meeting lynching convicts in Jharkhand.
New Delhi: The row over Union Minister Jayant Sinha feting eight men convicted of lynching a Muslim trader only intensified Saturday, when Sinha defended his decision in a series of tweets, saying that he was only “honouring due process of law” while questioning the trial court’s verdict.
His father and former finance minister Yashwant Sinha joined in, saying that he did not approve of his son’s actions. “Earlier I was the Nalayak Baap of a Layak Beta. Now the roles are reversed. That is twitter. I do not approve of my son’s action. But I know even this will lead to further abuse. You can never win,” Yashwant Sinha tweeted Saturday evening.
Earlier I was the Nalayak Baap of a Layak Beta. Now the roles are reversed. That is twitter. I do not approve of my son's action. But I know even this will lead to further abuse. You can never win.
— Yashwant Sinha (@YashwantSinha) July 7, 2018
The union minister’s tweets justifying his actions did little to quell the outrage online, where Twitter users repeatedly referred to Sinha’s qualifications, including his MBA degree from Harvard.
“Jayant Sinha is doing a distress sale of his reputation to pay for the performance bankruptcy of his masters … In Harvard they teach this to investment bankers,” tweeted Sid, a New Delhi-based lawyer.
https://twitter.com/sidmtweets/status/1015505834208583680
“Jayant Sinha has a Harvard MBA. He was a consultant at McKinsey and a partner at @OmidyarNetwork, the foundation of global philanthropist @pierre Pierre Omidyar,” tweeted Annie Gowen, the India bureau chief for The Washington Post.
Jayant Sinha has a Harvard MBA. He was a consultant at McKinsey and a partner at @OmidyarNetwork, the foundation of global philanthropist @pierre Pierre Omidyar https://t.co/rTQCUS9l5d
— Annie Gowen (@anniegowen) July 7, 2018
Former Jharkhand chief minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha president, Hemant Soren, had earlier even tagged the Ivy League university in his criticism of Sinha’s actions. “This is truly despicable. @Harvard Your alumnus @jayantsinha felicitating the accused in cow related lynching death in India. Is this what @Harvard stands for?,” he had tweeted Friday, when the controversy first broke out.
This is truly despicable. @Harvard Your alumnus @jayantsinha felicitating the accused in cow related lynching death in India. Is this what @Harvard stands for? https://t.co/DJh8XRtoXl
— Hemant Soren (घर में रहें – सुरक्षित रहें) (@HemantSorenJMM) July 6, 2018
‘Honouring due process’
Breaking his silence on the controversy, Sinha had early on Saturday tweeted that he “unequivocally” condemned all acts of violence and rejecting “any type of vigilantism.”
“I have full faith in our judicial system and the rule of law. Unfortunately, irresponsible statements are being made about my actions when all that I am doing is honouring the due process of law. Those that are innocent will be spared and the guilty will be appropriately punished,” Sinha tweeted.
He also said he had misgivings about the fast track court verdict, adding that he was “pleased” that high court will hear the appeal of the eight convicts.
I have full faith in our judicial system and the rule of law. Unfortunately, irresponsible statements are being made about my actions when all that I am doing is honoring the due process of law. Those that are innocent will be spared and the guilty will be appropriately punished.
— Jayant Sinha (@jayantsinha) July 7, 2018
I have repeatedly expressed my misgivings about the Fast-Track Court judgement sentencing each accused to life imprisonment. I am pleased that the Hon'ble High Court will hear the matter as a statutory court of appeal to test the correctness of the Fast-Track Court order.
— Jayant Sinha (@jayantsinha) July 7, 2018
I unequivocally condemn all acts of violence and reject any type of vigilantism. The rule of law is supreme in our constitutional democracy. Any unlawful acts, particularly those that violate the rights of any citizen, should be punished with the full force of the law.
— Jayant Sinha (@jayantsinha) July 7, 2018
‘Game to win elections’
Sinha sparked the row Wednesday when he welcomed the eight men, including BJP leader Nityanand Mahto, all of whom have been convicted in the Ramgarh mob lynching case of 2017. While a fast track court sentenced the men to life in prison for allegedly lynching Alimuddin Ansari, a cattle trader, in June last year, the Ranchi High Court suspended the life sentence and granted the convicts bail.
When the men walked out of jail on 4 July, they headed straight to Sinha’s house on the outskirts of Hazaribagh. The union minister of state for civil aviation was waiting for them and welcomed them with garlands and sweets.
Once the photographs depicting Sinha’s actions emerged, the opposition was quick to slam the minister. “The BJP only wants to fan communal violence. Both the state and central government have failed to deliver on the ground,” said Ajoy Kumar, the Jharkhand Congress president. “Their entire game is to win the election and for that any leader of their party can go to any extent. I am not surprised at all. This is the real face of the party.”
CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury accused the government of attempting to disturb the social fabric of the country. “We don’t need to look far to see who or which ideology is tearing our social fabric apart: when union ministers patronise those convicted of lynching,” he had tweeted.
We don’t need to look far to see who or which ideology is tearing our social fabric apart: when union ministers patronise those convicted of lynching. #PoliticsOfHate https://t.co/VA8FwtJ9QQ
— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) July 6, 2018
In an India where the miscarriage of justice is the norm rather than the exception, I would agree with my friend, Yashwanth Sinha.
Agree with @Ashok that the Police and the Court handled the case swiftly. Yet releasing all the accused in what is a murder case is rare.
What is most deplorable is the silence of the misguided minister’s organization, the BJP over his despicable behavior, as if the whole party and its leadership were joined together in garlanding the accused.
One could understand the marigold garlands and laddoos if the High Court had acquitted the men, overturning the trial court’s conviction, passing strictures against it, holding that there had been a serious miscarriage of justice. This is in fact an extremely rare case, which ought to serve as a model for the country, where the police did a swift, thorough investigation and a trial court rendered timely justice.