KALAM’S ‘TURNING POINT’ Death penalty cases hit by social, economic bias Sharad hits out

At Kalam over Sonia

New Delhi, July 1: Pendency of several cases related to capital punishment in Rashtrapati Bhavan is one “inherited task” that no President would feel happy about, according to former President A.P.J Abdul Kalam.

“I thought I should get all these cases examined from a normal citizen's point of view in terms of the crime, intensity of the crime and the social and financial status of the individuals who were convicted and awarded capital punishment,” Dr Kalam writes in his soonto-be-released book Turning Points against the backdrop of the demand for early hanging of convicts like Afzal Guru and Ajmal Kasab.

He says the study JD(U) president Sharad Yadav on Sunday hit out at former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam for his comments that he was ready to appoint Congress chief Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister in 2004 despite intense lobbying against her. Mr Yadav, who is also the NDA convenor, said: “His (Dr Kalam’s) conscience has woken up late. It is for self-aggrandisement. We used to respect him a lot but now are very saddened after such comments.” Mr Yadav questioned why Dr Kalam remained silent for eight years even as “wild rumours and gossips” went on in the political space. He further said, “The constitutional head should speak out the truth when it is required. Talking of conscience when it suits you does not matter.” revealed to his surprise that almost all pending cases “had a social and economic bias”, giving an impression that “we were punishing the person who was least involved in the enmity and who did not have a direct motive for committing the crime”.