|
| Union minister Kapil Sibal addresses the seminar in Patna on Saturday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh |
Patna, Feb. 23: Union minister Kapil Sibal today reached out to Muslims by asserting on the need for justice, but he chose to do so through verses.
Sibal, a legal eagle who now holds the communications and information technology portfolios, was speaking at a seminar to mark the death anniversary of freedom fighter Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the country’s first education minister. Sibal was in charge of the human resource development ministry that covers education until a few months ago.
The minister, who is known to pen poems in his spare time and has published a couple of books, read out one of his compositions which mirrors the anguish of those for whom justice is a far cry. “Insaaf dene ki raah dikhao, Insaaf ke liye main kab se khara hoon (Show me the road to justice. I am waiting for justice since long),” starts the poem, which took the minister about eight minutes to recite.
“The foundation of the development of any country or state is justice. Unfortunately though, the country lacks in delivering justice. It has weakened over the years and if it remains like this, the development of the nation would not be possible. And, we are all responsible for it,” said Sibal, without naming any person, community or political leader.
With lines like “Jo beinsafi hui hai (Whatever injustice has been done)” and “Apna faisla tum jaldi sunao, Isi ke liye main kab se khara hoon (Give me your decision fast, I am waiting for the same since long)”, the poem drew spontaneous applause from those present at the seminar held at a city hotel.
The poem continued: “Insaaf dene me samjhauta naa karna, Bhool ke bhi tum mukhse sauda naa karna (Don’t compromise in delivering justice. Don’t try to strike any deals with me).”
Although Sibal did not name any individual, the allusion to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi could not be missed. Zakia Jafri, the widow of Congress leader Ehsan Jafri, who was murdered during the 2002 Gujarat riots, has recently expressed fear that the victims of the carnage would not get justice if Modi became the Prime Minister.
| 
