PUNE, 14 June 2006 — While ordinary citizens languish in prisons without any comforts, politicians know the art of making mockery of the judicial system of the country and getting released comfortably. Whether it is Lalu Prasad Yadav in Bihar or Surupsinh Naik in Maharashtra, it makes no difference of how the judicial system is rocked and mocked.
Former senior Cabinet minister in the Congress-led Democratic Front (DF) government in Maharashtra Surupsinh Naik, who was sentenced to one month imprisonment on May 10, by the Supreme Court for allowing saw mills to operate near forest areas in violation of its orders, completed his 30-day jail term and walked out of the Thane prison in a healthy condition Monday evening.
Not accustomed to an uncomfortable life and the jail conditions, Surupsinh Naik managed to get admitted to J.J. Hospital in Bombay on May 15 for chest pains where he spent 22 days out of the 30 days of his sentence in complete comfort of the hospital. He was back into the jail on June 5 and released on June 12. Thus Naik spent a major portion of his sentence without any discomfort.
A senior police official said that politicians or ministers from the ruling party in power can “manage” to do anything with the help and support of the government, and this has been the case with Naik too, while for ordinary citizens, these special treatments are nearly next to impossible. Of course gangsters with money power, can also manage to get facilities as received by Naik, the official said.
Emerging out of the Thane prison, Naik blamed the state government for not defending his case properly. Naik, a powerful tribal leader from Nandurbar district with close proximity to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, when asked if he would return to the government, refused to comment and said he had full faith in the party high command and would await further orders from the party.
