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ShareMumbai: Nazareth Vincent's "punishment" of sit-ups to a man for smoking in a public place is nothing short of an "illegal" act.
While there is no doubt that smoking in public place is an offence, there exists a separate machinery to deal with such offenders. I wonder who gave Vincent the right to take law into his own hands and humiliate the poor man in public in this manner.
The ilk of people like Vincent who claim to head some unheard-of organisation and proclaim themselves as crusaders against some social ill is mushrooming in our country. Media falls prey to such gimmicks and soon they become a law-unto-themselves. They start interfering in every sphere of public life including politics and governance, and dictate terms to policy and decision-makers. Many a times, it is nothing but blackmail. The worst is they are neither accountable nor answerable to anyone for their illogical and irrational behaviour, nor are their own personal lives ever open to public scrutiny.
The police need to clarify if any Vincent has the authority to punish any offender in public. Perhaps, the motive of Vincent is genuine but what if some other crusader, inspired by Vincent, starts collecting "fine" from smokers?
As for Vincent, he should also train his guns on slum dwellers who defecate in public for lack of toilets. Punishing them would be easier because they are already in a sitting position. He only has to ask them to get up. And one last thing, dressing like Mahatma Gandhi is highly objectionable for carrying out his gimmick. This smacks of cowardice and Gandhiji was not known to have indulged in one.
- Charuhas Satam. Senior PR Consultant
To some extent this move makes sense as despite the ban on smoking in public, we commonly find people smoking. The way I have seen some people smoke in public, seems like they are not even aware of any such law exists. So if someone is monitoring their move and it will make people take the law seriously then I support the act by Vincent Nazreth.
--Nilesh Munot
Who is Nazareth Vincent to punish anyone? The government has banned smoking in public places and if someone is smoking, authorities should punish the person. We have to maintain and respect law and order in the country. If today Nazareth is doing that tomorrow someone else will start slapping people for doing so. Instead he should have informed a policeman and let him fine the person. Also, the idea to dress up like Mahatma Gandhi is objectionable. This is nothing but a cheap publicity stunt.
- Gaurav Jha
How can anyone punish people for not following the law? Aren't there officials to monitor this? Today activists are against issues like smoking, tomorrow it will be against some other thing else. It's true that the ban is not very efficient in Mumbai but there are better ways to handle this. This doesn't seem to be a good way to tackle the situation.
--Amita Mehta
