The Hindu : National : Centre must decide on Afzal's mercy plea, says BJP

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Sunday, Jan 14, 2007
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Centre must decide on Afzal's mercy plea, says BJP

Special Correspondent

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday demanded that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government immediately decide its stand on the mercy petition of Afzal Guru, the main accused in the Parliament attack case who has been sentenced to death, since the Supreme Court rejected his curative petition.

Talking to newsmen here, party spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said the UPA Government, including the Ministry of Home Affairs, should send its recommendations to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on Afzal's mercy petition. "I appeal to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil to send their comments on the mercy petition of Afzal without any delay. What has been committed is a crime against the nation that virtually amounted to declaring war. No leniency should be shown to the accused. Had the security personnel deployed in Parliament not killed the terrorists on that dreadful day and had even one of the terrorists managed to enter Parliament House, he would have wiped out the top political leadership of India," he said.

Vote-bank politics

Charging the Congress party with playing politics over the issue, Mr. Prasad said the BJP hoped that the UPA would not politicise the issue for the sake of vote-bank politics in Uttar Pradesh and other States going to the polls.

Stating that the U.S. intelligence agencies had clearly pointed to terrorist outfit Al-Qaeda being very active in Pakistan and getting cooperation and protection for its activities, Mr. Prasad said it was time that the Havana doctrine, which envisaged a joint mechanism to tackle terror, was reviewed. "We are not against normalcy with Pakistan but there should be no compromise on the issues of terrorism and the integrity of Jammu and Kashmir. They [India] seriously need to have a re-look at what was agreed to in Havana," he added.

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