By IANS,
New Delhi : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Wednesday said President Pratibha Patil should reject the mercy petition of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
“If the home ministry report is true, we demand immediate implementation of the Supreme Court verdict. We demand that president’s office reject the mercy petition of Afzal Guru. Hanging has to take place immediately to send the right message across,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters here.
His comments came after media reports that the union home ministry has asked President Patil to reject the convict’s mercy plea.
Javadekar said that Afzal’s case had been pending with the Delhi government for more than four years.
Afzal is on the death row since 2002. His wife Tabassum filed a mercy petition with the Rashtrapati Bhavan four years ago.
On Dec, 13, 2001, the Indian parliament was attacked by five terrorists. At least 12 people, including parliament staffers, and all the terrorists were killed in the 45-minute gun battle.
Javadekar also said that if the death sentence had been given in any other country, this kind of delay would not have happened.
“His hanging would send a right message that whoever indulges in terror activities will not be spared. The party hopes for the president’s office to take early decision,” he added.
Former BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu said: “We hope Afzal gets capital punishment at the earliest.”
According to sources, the mercy petition was sent to the union home ministry for its view and it returned the file last week, rejecting the plea because of the heinous nature of the crime.
It is now up to the president to take a call on the fate of Afzal, exercising her powers under Article 72 of the constitution.
BJP spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain told IANS that the party has all along put pressure on the government to expedite Afzal’s hanging.
“Though it is a late decision, we hope to see the President taking the decision to hang him without further delay,” he added.