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If Bhutto can be jailed, why not Jayalalitha?

The Lahore high court verdict sentencing former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto to five years' rigorous imprisonment had its echo in the Tamil Nadu assembly on Friday.

C Gnanasekaran of the Tamil Manila Congress demanded that All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader and former chief minister J Jayalalitha, who is mired in corruption cases, be punished likewise.

Participating in a debate on the demand for grants to administrate justice and prison, the member was aghast that nothing was done though the state government appointed three special judges to try the corruption cases three years ago.

Suggesting that the judiciary speed up the disposal of cases, he said, "Only in our judicial system it is possible for one to get adjournments for three years. If a former prime minister could be convicted in Pakistan, why not in our country?"

Law Minister Alladi Aruna, in response, asserted that the government would defeat Jayalalitha's dilatory tactics and ensure that judgment in most corruption is delivered in the next six months. The government would also ensure that the documents in Tamil sought by the accused were supplied to them by the end of this month.

UNI

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