Delaying Afzal Guru's execution is vote bank politics: BJP

IANS | New Delhi: A day after mercy petitions of two death row convicts were rejected by President Pratibha Patil, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday demanded rejection of the mercy plea of parliament terror attack accused Afzal Guru, terming the delay in his execution "vote-bank politics".

"It is a copy book example of vote-bank politics. A few days back there was a comment from (Delhi Chief Minister) Sheila Dikshit and her officers that the then home minister Shivraj Patil had asked to delay the petition," party spokesman Ravishankar Prasad told reporters.

"Tthe mercy petition should be rejected at the earliest and action be taken," Prasad said.

"This (the parliament attack) was an attack on the nation. Had even one person gone inside parliament with an AK-47, the entire leadership of all political parties could have been killed, and it has been treated like this," he said.

President Patil Thursday rejected the mercy petition of Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar, who was convicted for the 1993 car bomb attack outside the Indian Youth Congress office in New Delhi that killed 12 people and injured 29.

The president has also rejected the mercy petition of Mahendra Nath Das of Assam, who was sentenced to death for murdering a person while out on bail in another murder case.

Afzal Guru is accused of collaborating with five terrorists who attacked India's parliament Dec 13, 2001, killing nine security personnel and staff before being gunned down.

Source: Daily Pioneer, 27th May 2011