NEW DELHI :While criticism of the death sentence awarded to the former Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, continued to pour in, the Communist Party of India demanded that the Union Government reject the verdict outright.

The All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, the National Panthers Party, the Socialist Unity Centre of India and the All India Forward Bloc on Monday condemned the death sentence.

"The Government of India has been very mild in its initial reaction. It must come out with an outright rejection of the tribunal's verdict and demand that the death sentence be cancelled," the CPI central secretariat said in a statement.

A mockery

It said a closer look at the verdict shows that the trial was a complete "mockery and travesty of justice. It was clear from the day he was captured by the American forces that they wanted to do away with him."

"The verdict thus amounts to judicial assassination under the shadow of an army of occupation and a puppet government. It can only further divide and break up the Iraqi people and the Iraqi nation and unleash a civil conflict, with a fallout in the entire West Asia," the statement said.

The All-India Forward Bloc too termed the court order a "mockery" of democratic traditions and international judicature.

The Majlis-e-Mushawarat charged that the trial did not meet the minimum international standards of justice and fairness and urged the U.N. Security Council to establish a review panel.

The National Panthers Party urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to defend Mr. Hussein, a trusted friend of India, and said the verdict was a "dictate of the White House."

The Socialist Unity Centre of India urged the Government to pressure the United States and British governments to annul the verdict.

The Congress noted that there was an automatic appeal/review procedure for death sentences. Party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the party believed that as far as credibility of a due process was concerned it would, to some extent, remain a question mark in the context of the origin and creation of these courts.Asked whether the Congress thought Mr. Hussein had received a free and fair trial, Mr. Singhvi said the party believed the verdict must be scrutinised by the appellate process. He denied that India was facing the American line on the issue and said there was no variance between the stand of the Government and the party.

Clarify stand: SP

The Samajwadi Party demanded that the United Progressive Alliance Government clarify its position on the verdict.

"We can't understand the Government's statement issued on Sunday. It is neither here nor there," party general secretary Amar Singh told a press conference here.

"We don't want an awkward, loose comment. We will raise the issue during the forthcoming session of Parliament."

Referring to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent remarks on the lack of opportunities for minority communities in jobs, Mr. Singh said the Congress party had been in power for a majority of decades after independence and had used the Muslim community as a vote bank.

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