Taking the media head on, disgraced ex-Haryana Director General of Police SPS Rathore taunted newsmen, on Wednesday, telling them he will smile more if they succeed in doing more "harm" to him and said he has learnt from Jawaharlal Nehru to smile when one is facing adversity.
Chiding the media for "talking too much about his smile" after the smirk on his face on getting a lighter six-month sentence in the Ruchika molestation case drew the ire of various groups, the 67-year-old former Haryana top cop also said he will not "destroy" the judicial system like the way the "media was doing."
Hounded by newsmen for his reaction as he walked out of the District and Sessions Court to his car after getting bail in the molestation case, Rathore did not hide his apparent dislike for the media in the wake of his submissions in open court that he was being subjected to a media trial.
"I will not speak anything about the subject of inquiry but certainly if you want I can speak about the smile you have been talking too much...I learnt from Prime Minister His Excellency Jawaharlal Nehru to smile when you are in adversity. I will smile more. If you succeed to harm me more I will still smile more," Rathore said. Rathore, who spent nearly five hours inside the Court complex, said, "If you (media) want to know the secret of my smile, then I have to say that if anyone of you happens to come to my drawing room, you will find a photograph at the central point which shows my wife-advocate (Abha) at the age of 9 years offering flowers to then smiling Prime Minister his excellency Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru".
"And that takes me back to my old Lucknow University days when I used to run along with the university boys just to have a glimpse of this greatest son of India (Nehru)," he said about his childhood idol. Rathore did not take any questions with regards to the ongoing case, saying the matter was sub judice. "I will not speak anything on this subject," he added. Before reporters could ask him further questions, he went on to explain the reasons behind the "secret of his smile" and added he had learnt to smile when one was faced with testing times.
Pictures and video footage of a "smiling Rathore" last month after the trial court verdict on December 21 last had drawn widespread criticism from different quarters. Claiming it to be a mockery of not only the too little punishment awarded to him but also modesty of the deceased, several feminist groups had publicly condemned the act. "We were shocked to see no remorse on his face for having forced a young girl to take such a step. It was this gesture that made me more determined to get him his due punishment," Anand Prakash, who fought the case, had said. Rathore had avoided all questions from the media after his previous court appearances except for one occasion when he mocked at newsmen saying, "The day you can satisfy me that you are a constitutional power on judicial matters, I will speak to you."
