A day after Yakub Memon was hanged to death, sharp opinions polarised the >political atmosphere in Maharashtra — while the Shiv Sena said those who sought leniency for him should be tried for treason, noted scholars, activists and opposition leaders hit back at the party for its “failure to interpret the essence of Freedom of Expression.” Many also pointed out the Sena’ history of ‘involvement’ in communal violence in Mumbai in 1993, for which the party’s leaders, including its supremo Bal Thackeray, were indicted by the B.N. Srikrishna Commission report.

In an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece Saamna, titled “Yakub has no religion,” the party on Friday demanded that those who sympathised with the 1993 blasts convict should be “tried for being enemies of the country.” It also asked the government to ensure that Memon was not projected as innocent and that he did not become a martyr in the eyes of the people.

Lashing out at the Sena for its “fanatical” stand, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Tushar Gandhi, clarified that those demanding clemency for Memon only “requested that he be spared death.”

“We were against capital punishment for him … Nowhere did we seek pardon for him,” Mr. Gandhi told The Hindu.

“Those who say such things do not understand democracy. The concept of Freedom of Expression is alien to them.”

Rebutting the Sena claim, noted social activist Ram Puniyani also said there were no attempts to present Memon as innocent by those pleading mercy for him.

“The party’s statement is wrong and clearly exposes its ultra-nationalist and jingoistic tendency. It has no regard for the Freedom of Speech,” Mr. Puniyani said.

BJP’s take



As the debate over Memon’s death rages on, BJP leaders have taken to social media to point out that even Mahatma Gandhi’s killer was hanged, to justify their stand on the execution. However, Mr. Gandhi asked what could be more Gandhian than attempt to save a life.

“Gandhiji would have never sanctioned a judicial murder,” Mr. Gandhi said.

Many activists and organisations have in the recent weeks also demanded that the report of the B. N. Srikrishna Commission, which probed the 1993 Mumbai riots, be implemented to bring to book the accused.