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BJP criticises Farooq for `irresponsible' talk

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: As a former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah should have known better than to talk "irresponsibly" about clemency for Mohammad Afzal Guru, facing a death sentence in the Parliament terrorist attack case, the Bharatiya Janata Party said here on Monday.

It was perhaps for the first time that a senior BJP leader directly attacked Mr. Abdullah, a one-time ally of the National Democratic Alliance. Spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said that Mr. Abdullah ought to know India's judicial system, and it was unfortunate that he talked about possible threats to the lives of judges who pass such sentences against militants.

"He [Farooq Abdullah] never spoke like this when he was our ally," Mr. Prasad said, adding that it was wrong to talk about Kashmiri sentiments in connection with a man who was found guilty of having plotted to attack Parliament. "We condemn Dr. Abdullah's statement on this."Mr. Prasad pointed out that when Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh were given the death penalty for their role in the Indira Gandhi assassination, Sikhs had not demanded clemency for them, nor had Bengalis spoken to demand pardon for Dhananjay Chatterjee who was hanged after he was found guilty of rape and murder.

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