Kanwarlal Meena's bid for guv pardon opposed by civil society group
Jaipur: Civil society group Friday condemned the BJP govt's alleged attempt to secure a pardon through the governor for its convicted ex-MLA Kanwarlal Meena. The former Anta MLA was convicted for threatening a govt officer with a pistol in 2005.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
He was disqualified from the state assembly on May 23. On Thursday, he submitted a petition for pardon before governor Haribhau Bagde.
Soochna Evam Rozgar Adhikar Abhiyan (SR Abhiyan) called it shocking and deeply disturbing that a govt would seek to pardon someone convicted of criminal misconduct while in office. Nikhil Dey, a founding member of SR Abhiyan, said the BJP govt cannot claim to uphold the Constitution while working to shield those with a history of abuse and violence.
"Would a common citizen convicted of such an act receive such consideration? This is a betrayal of the very idea of equal justice," he said.
He pointed out Meena's criminal history was well-documented. In addition to the 2005 conviction, he faced multiple allegations, including of attacking govt officials and disturbing public order. During the 2023 assembly elections, he was accused of making inflammatory speeches that vitiated the election environment in Anta, Dey said.
In 2016, as a sitting MLA, Meena and his supporters reportedly assaulted peaceful marchers—including women—participating in SR Abhiyan's 100-day accountability yatra in Aklera, a video of which was later circulated widely, Dey said.
He said SR Abhiyan would take the issue to the people and fight to ensure that justice was not sacrificed at the altar of political expediency. "We are not raising this issue to target individuals, but to protect the basic principles of justice and accountability.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
Public office should come with a higher standard of ethics, not impunity," Dey said.
Jaipur: Civil society group Friday condemned the BJP govt's alleged attempt to secure a pardon through the governor for its convicted ex-MLA Kanwarlal Meena. The former Anta MLA was convicted for threatening a govt officer with a pistol in 2005. He was disqualified from the state assembly on May 23. On Thursday, he submitted a petition for pardon before governor Haribhau Bagde.
Soochna Evam Rozgar Adhikar Abhiyan (SR Abhiyan) called it shocking and deeply disturbing that a govt would seek to pardon someone convicted of criminal misconduct while in office. Nikhil Dey, a founding member of SR Abhiyan, said the BJP govt cannot claim to uphold the Constitution while working to shield those with a history of abuse and violence. "Would a common citizen convicted of such an act receive such consideration? This is a betrayal of the very idea of equal justice," he said.
He pointed out Meena's criminal history was well-documented. In addition to the 2005 conviction, he faced multiple allegations, including of attacking govt officials and disturbing public order. During the 2023 assembly elections, he was accused of making inflammatory speeches that vitiated the election environment in Anta, Dey said. In 2016, as a sitting MLA, Meena and his supporters reportedly assaulted peaceful marchers—including women—participating in SR Abhiyan's 100-day accountability yatra in Aklera, a video of which was later circulated widely, Dey said.
He said SR Abhiyan would take the issue to the people and fight to ensure that justice was not sacrificed at the altar of political expediency. "We are not raising this issue to target individuals, but to protect the basic principles of justice and accountability. Public office should come with a higher standard of ethics, not impunity," Dey said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
As CM, Uddhav accepted report saying Hindi compulsory, says Fadnavis
MUMBAI: The BJP rushed to the defence of the state government over its decision to introduce Hindi as an optional language for Classes 1 to 5 after the Thackeray cousins announced their decision to hold a joint morcha against "imposition" of Hindi in state schools. CM Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said Marathi is compulsory, Hindi is optional. "Basically, students can learn any Indian language. We have accepted the three-language policy. When NE was introduced, the Uddhav Thackeray govt was in office. An 18-member committee was set up to study the policy, and in 2021 the Thackeray govt accepted it and further action was taken on it. In this report, it was clearly mentioned that along with Marathi, Hindi and English be made compulsory. Will you consider Mashelkar, Bhalchandra Mungekar, Sukhdev Thorat, who submitted this report, anti-Maharashtra? We allowed all languages," he said.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
NISHAD party demands national memorial at Kanpur ghat
The Nishad Party, a BJP ally in Uttar Pradesh, demanded that the Satti Chaura Ghat in Kanpur be declared a National Memorial. The demand comes in remembrance of the 1857 incident where British forces allegedly massacred people from the Nishad community at the same ghat, and the party is marking the anniversary as 'Smriti and Sankalpa Diwas' for Nishads. 'We will rewrite with our blood the history that is not written in books,' said party chief and minister Sanjay Nishad, adding the ghat is a witness to the sacrifice and first spark of freedom by Nishad community. He said Satti Chaura Ghat be declared a national memorial and the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 be included in school syllabus to educate future generations about their ancestors.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
‘Socialist', ‘secular' in Preamble: Shivraj, MoS Singh back Hosabale, Opposition slams remark
A day after RSS Sarkaryavaha Dattatreya Hosabale called for a discussion on whether the words 'socialist' and 'secular', inserted in the Preamble of the Constitution during the Emergency, should remain there, Union Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Dr Jitendra Singh threw their weight behind the idea even as leaders of the Congress and other Opposition parties criticised Hosabale's remark. There was no comment from the BJP on the RSS leader's suggestion. Sudhanshu Trivedi, the party's national spokesperson, attacked the Congress for being 'behind every act of tampering with the Constitution and its spirit' over the last seven decades, and said it should apologise for the Emergency. The LJP, which is part of the ruling alliance, was the only NDA partner to respond to Hosabale's remark. 'If this issue is brought before the alliance, we will oppose it. We are protectors of socialism and secularism,' LJP national vice president A K Bajpayi said. Shivraj Singh Chouhan's office shared a video of the minister addressing a press conference Friday in Varanasi where he said, 'Sarva Dharma Sambhav Bharatiya sanskriti ka mool hai. Dharm nirpeksh hamari sanskriti ka mool nahin hai. Isliye ispar zaroor vichaar hona chahiye ki aapaatkaal mein jis dharm nirpeksh shabd ko joda gaya usko hataya jaaye.' ('The core of Indian culture is Sarva Dharma Sambhav (equal respect for all religions) and not dharm nirpeksh (secular). Therefore, there must be a discussion on the removal of the word dharm nirpeksh that was added during the Emergency.') On socialism, Chouhan said that to believe everyone else to be like oneself is a core Indian thought. That this world is a family (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam) is the core thought of India, he said. 'There is no need for socialism here. We have said for long that all should be treated alike. So, the word socialism is also not needed, and the country should certainly think about this,' he said. In Jammu, Minister of State Jitendra Singh said he did not think there was 'any second thought' on Hosabale's remark. 'Hosabale ji has stated that the words 'secular' and 'socialist' were added to our Preamble after the 42nd amendment as these were not given by Babasaheb Ambedkar,'' he said. Pointing out that Dr B R Ambedkar crafted 'one of the best Constitutions of the world'', Singh said 'if it was not his thinking, then with what thought someone added these words'. Asked whether the BJP endorsed the demand for the removal of the words 'secular' and 'socialist', Singh said, 'Who doesn't want to? Every right-thinking citizen will endorse it because everyone knows they are not part of the original Constitution document, which Dr Ambedkar and the rest of the committee wrote.' 'It is not a question of BJP vs non-BJP,'' he said, adding 'it is the question of preserving the democratic values and the constitutional values''. He said the Emergency was not a sudden aberration but rather the cumulative result of the Congress ideological foundation, and accused the party of being rooted in nepotism, authoritarianism and opportunism, always placing its own interests above that of the country. Referring to Hosabale's remark, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said the 'RSS mask' has 'come off again', and that the Constitution troubles them 'because it speaks of equality, secularism and justice'. In a post on X in Hindi, Gandhi said the 'RSS-BJP' combine 'wants Manusmriti' and is out to deprive the marginalised and the poor of their rights. 'Their real agenda is to snatch away a powerful weapon like the Constitution from them,' he said. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said: 'Invoking the Emergency to discredit these principles is a deceitful move, especially when the RSS colluded with the Indira Gandhi government during that time for its own survival… To use that period now to undermine the Constitution reflects sheer hypocrisy and political opportunism.' BJP's Trivedi was quoted by news agency PTI saying, 'The BJP has been raising the issue of flagrant violations of people's fundamental rights and atrocities committed by the Congress government during the Emergency, and has demanded an apology from the Congress. But the party is not ready to apologise and is instead diverting the issue.' 'It is the Congress which is behind every act of tampering with the Constitution and its spirit in the last over 70 years. The Congress must apologise instead of spreading confusion,' he said. Vikas Pathak is deputy associate editor with The Indian Express and writes on national politics. He has over 17 years of experience, and has worked earlier with The Hindustan Times and The Hindu, among other publications. He has covered the national BJP, some key central ministries and Parliament for years, and has covered the 2009 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and many state assembly polls. He has interviewed many Union ministers and Chief Ministers. Vikas has taught as a full-time faculty member at Asian College of Journalism, Chennai; Symbiosis International University, Pune; Jio Institute, Navi Mumbai; and as a guest professor at Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. Vikas has authored a book, Contesting Nationalisms: Hinduism, Secularism and Untouchability in Colonial Punjab (Primus, 2018), which has been widely reviewed by top academic journals and leading newspapers. He did his PhD, M Phil and MA from JNU, New Delhi, was Student of the Year (2005-06) at ACJ and gold medalist from University Rajasthan College in Jaipur in graduation. He has been invited to top academic institutions like JNU, St Stephen's College, Delhi, and IIT Delhi as a guest speaker/panellist. ... Read More
